Destiny
by Xardion
Summary: Zone of the Enders 2 from Jehuty's point of view. The Final Battle! Spoiler Alert! Final Chapter! Please R
1. Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Zone of the Enders (damn) or any of the character within.

_AN: First, I'd like to say that I'm surprised that there aren't more ZOE fics here. But that's okay, just leaves me some room to work. As I mentioned earlier, this is from Jehuty's point of view, not __ADA__'s. So things are going to sound a bit different, but it'll still be the same. Now that that's said, here we go…_

Introduction

_Darkness.___

I lay here asleep, dormant for I-don't-know-how-long. I was inside a box of some sort, with no light or any power source. I could feel energy around me, but as long as I didn't have a runner, it would be useless. I wonder what happened to the last runner. He was a strong one. _My first one._ He was the one who first awakened me into battle, even though he was a little reluctant about it. _Why am I even here? What happened that I had to be sealed away?_ It was probably because of 'him'. That much I understood. But I can't stay here forever

Then within the darkness, a light creped in. A lone figure walked into my coffin as it were and up to me. His hair was a strange white and his face was unshaven. He seemed to be examining me, amazed by what I was.

"An orbital frame."

Suddenly, a loud sound rumbled throughout the entire room. The man stumbled as the shakings increased. Explosions could be heard outside. I recognized some of the sounds. The familiar swoop of Raptors in assault. The man managed to grab hold of me and clawed his way inside, sealing himself within my body. The rumblings increased and I felt to area around me falling. But then, a most wonderful thing happened.

I stopped falling...

The green light of Metatron filled me, charging my very cells with incredible power. I felt my strength return to me as I arose into the air. With so much power, I shattered my iron prison, exposing my familiar blue armored body to an icy world. But that didn't matter to me now. My days of sleep were over.

_Time for an awakening..._

_____________________

_AN: Yeah, it's short. That'll change in future chapters._


	2. Ardjet

Disclaimer: Check previous chapter.

Chap. 1

_Ahh__, fresh air!_ The terrain I was in was an ice covered world. I could sense the Metatron beneath, but I didn't need it now. I had more than enough energy. The bottom line is that I was free again. But my elation was cut short as a swarm of incest headed my way. Within them were two Raptors. _Good_, I thought. _I can use the workout._ The first one came and slashed out, but I quickly flew back. The second came at me and we clashed; my blade against his. _Hmm, they've gotten stronger since last I fought. But..._ I pushed his away and charged, letting my blade do it thing. I slashed at the poor Raptor and demolished it. The first one obviously didn't get the hint because it came at me. It let out a slash, but I sidestepped and dashed at him. While I was still in dash, my blade ignited once again, ripping it in half.

Apparently, the runner was impressed with my capabilities. He has never summoned a creature like me. That made me glad. It was always nice to be appreciated. Then my senses were alerted. It told me and the runner of the chaos that was happening to this place. According to the runner, a friend of his was in trouble. The man was stuck in one of the LEV mining armors. As I remember it, such fighters aren't that strong, especially when compared to me. All the more reason why we should hurry and help him.  But first, I have to deal with the bugs. Several of them moved at me, like a dirty cloud. They fired beams of energy, but such weapons do little to nothing against armor powered by Metatron. I raised my right arm and began firing back. Bolts of blue shot out and destroyed many of them, but they continued to come. _I have no time for this._ I let my blade glisten the air again and I struck one down. Still moving, I swung again, this time destroying three. Slash after slash followed and the mosquitoes were all destroyed.

I continued onward to find my runner's comrade, when I was approached by another group of Raptors. The lanky creatures flew at me with their shields up and attacked. _They just don't get it, do they? I don't have time for this!_ Needless to say, they did last long. I continued onward, but my senses discovered that a wall prevented me from getting to him. I growled. I would take too long to slash through the ice-rock wall. But then it occurred to me. I didn't have to. I placed my arms to the side. Great amounts of energy filled my body and caused me to glow. Then I raised one of my arms up into the sky and directed the energy to it. The energy came into the form of a ball and began to grow. When it reached the right size, I arched my arm back and shot it forward. The energy his with devastating results as the mountain wall came down. With the path clear, I continued onward. There was my target. He was currently stuck on the side of the crevice. His leg was injured, but beyond that, he was fine.

"Are you alright?

He looked at me, almost panicked. But his runner had informed him of who my runner was and he seemed to calm down.

"I'm okay. But I seem to be…"

Suddenly, a shadow flew over both of us. I quickly looked up and saw something in the distance. It swooped closer and it was then that I recognized it.

_A frame warrior._

It zoomed in closer and appeared to be in attack position. The LEV was frightened and managed to jump out of the way. _Strange for a guy that was hurt in his leg._ It was then that I took a good look at my opponent.

She was pale white color, wearing a cloak that stretch down to her legs. She was definitely beautiful, I'll give her that. But such thoughts left my mind when she summoned her own powers. Her cloak flew up and split up into dozens of glowing fireballs. They surrounded her and she let them fly at me. I quickly put up my shield at they all smashed into me, hard.

"Hello Jehuty. Now surrender yourself."

"I don't think so. You'll have to fight me first."

"My pleasure. Feel the power of Ardjet."

_Ardjet__? Interesting name._ However, I had no time to dwell on it as she called forth another swarm of fireballs. I decided to outrun them, but they followed me. I had to block again and as before, they exploded before me. I couldn't see through the smoke they created, but when it did clear up, Ardjet was right before me. She had similar weapons as Raptors, although I'm guessing she knows how to use them. I was right. We clashed and she reached back for another strike. I dove down and shot back up in attack, but she flew away, leaving behind several after-images. _Whoa, that's fast._ Her hand arched out and she summoned a third halo of fireballs. I couldn't risk that working against me again. I flew to the side as she began gathering the energy. Keeping myself focused, I concentrated on her fireball attack itself. When she let them loose, I sent my own wave of energy. Beams of light left my fingers and struck her attack down. She was obviously surprised and caught up in the smoke herself. So much so that she didn't see me coming. I gave her a clean slash across the chest and she reeled back. Well that proved she was a warrior of the frame. No one else could have survived such an attack.

"You're as powerful as they say Jehuty. But I will defeat you."

Her cloak rose again and I prepare for her to summon her fireball attack again. But instead of splitting up, her cloak wrapped around her like a cocoon. Sprays of yellow energy then danced around her and began to gather at her center. _Uh, oh._ The spray suddenly converged and a beam of pure energy flew at me. I was lucky enough to dodge it as it flew past me and demolished a nearby ice formation. The cloak then retracted and she charged. I flew at her and we clashed again. Her blades moved quickly, but I noticed that they were moving to slowly for me. I blocked the blow and she struck again. Again, I blocked it, without much effort. _That's it. She can't fight well at close range. That why she has all those powers._ She dashed away and her cloak surrounded her again. The energy began to dance around her again, but I didn't move. They began to circulate to the center, but I was motionless. _Have to time this right._ The energy converged and the energy beam flew out again. But at the last second, I dodged to the side and came straight at her. Due to the cloak, she couldn't move and was helpless as I moved close to her and let the Metatron fill me greatly. When I had enough, I slashed out, spinning in 180 degrees. She was totally blown away by the force and she crashed onto the ground. As she struggled to rise, I stood over her and held her arms down. _Now for some answers._

"So you were looking for me?"

"Maybe."

"Even if you're the enemy, that's a little too harsh."

She simply gave me a half-grin, "It sure is."

I half-scowled. _This wasn't getting anywhere._ "Who's your commander?"

"Why don't you come and find out?"

Suddenly, she wrestled out of my grip and shot upwards into her vessel. She gave me one look before disappearing within. _Now I knew._ She wanted me to follow. _They were after me._ I could have stayed, but that would put the others in danger. My runner realized that as well. _Now that we are in agreement..._ I shot straight into the vessel just before it closed. They wanted me. They would get me...


	3. Nephtis

Disclaimer: Same as before

**_Gray-_** _I guess so. But Jehuty does have his own personality. It's just that in that case, it was similar to Dingo's._

**_Steel Jaguar-_** _Ha! Real funny. As for the sub-weapons, they are going to be introduced according to the storyline. Jehuty doesn't get the first one until his escape from Deimos which is probably going to be in the next chapter._

Chap. 2

I looked around the vessel in order to find my quarry. There was no sign of Ardjet anywhere. I guess I'm not surprised. Knowing my past experiences, she wouldn't have been here anyway. Chances are that there will be a welcoming committee waiting for me.

_I wasn't disappointed._

From above, several objects appeared and fell down to the floor. I don't think I've seen those before. My senses alerted me to what they were. _Spiders._ Well, that made sense. They were nothing more than a pair of legs moving about. They fired at me, but their attack were weak, hardly damaging me at all. Shaking my head, I fired back at them. But my beam hit some sort of shield around them. _Hmm.__ I guess I'll have to get in close._ Which was perfectly fine by me. Swooping down, I slashed the first Spider. The shield came up, but my blade cut through it, knocking the Spider into its partner and damaging them both. The third one continued to fire behind me, but it still made no damage. Turning around, I grabbed the leg of the Spider and tossed it with the others, causing all three of them to explode. The gate to the next room opened and I entered. _That was far too easy._

The next doors opened and I was greeted to another new sight. A green orb was floating before me. It wasn't attacking, or giving off any radiation of any kind. Suddenly, it began to pulsate and two Raptors came out in attack. I clashed blades with the first one as the second on came in on behind me. Quickly, I released my hold on it to avoid the second one's strike. It missed me and ripped apart its partner instead. Swooping back in, I made short work of the next one, cutting it right through the mid-section. I watched as both Raptors fell and returned my attention to the green orb. It began to pulsate. _Oh no, not again._ I charged myself and the familiar blue orb of energy ejected out of my hand, destroying the orb. Unfortunately, it had already produced another opponent. This one was bigger than the Raptors and it was something I recognized.

A Mummyhead.

The Mummyhead wasted no time in firing a barrage of projectiles at me. I quickly dodged the fire and moved in close. The Mummyhead turned to me and two orange beams shot out at me. _Crap, Halbreads!_ I dodged again, only more quickly. The energy nicked my leg, but it still hurt. However, now he was stuck in the same spot. I maneuvered around him and slashed repeated in the back. The armor shield was useless here and it exploded. However, the Raptor suddenly ejected and attacked me. That's a new trick. I easily backed out of the first slash and it shot past me. Shooting my arm out, I grabbed the Raptor's head and tossed him into the wall, smashing it into pieces. That was tougher than before. The next gate opened and I entered. Whatever awaited me, I would be waiting for it.

But when I entered, there was nothing there. No enemies, no green orbs, nothing. The room was different from the others. A massive column was in front and above me. It glistened with Metatron. _I had a bad feeling about this._ Looking past it, I saw the next gate was already open. I better get going before something happens. I moved toward the gate, but it suddenly shut before me. At the same time, a low rumbling sounded behind me.

_Really bad feeling.___

The massive column opened and a flood of white Metatron poured out. In the midst of it, an orange figure hovered out upside-down, like a strange flower. It was another frame warrior. _Another femaleframe warrior._ She was beautiful. Not beautiful like Ardjet. Ardjet could be described as lovely, while this one would be more on the lines of sexy. But there was something very wrong. She was giving out a familiar aura. _Where have I felt this before?_

_Flashback..._

_There's someone approaching. A type C frame warrior!_

_I've found you. Get ready!_

_You're holding a child? No, I underestimated you._

_Neith__, return.___

_Are you crazy? His runner is a child. I can beat him._

_I repeat. Return immediately._

_I won't forget this embarrassment, Jehuty. We'll meet again, I swear!_

_Flashback end..._

"Neith? Is that you?"

"Jehuty."

Suddenly, she spun right-side up and attacked with lightning speed. I was pushed back against a wall and she came again, faster than before. I had to burst away at high speed just to avoid her strike. To make it worse, she recovered fast and came again. Again, I busted, further away this time. _She's even deadlier than before._ I have to stop this now. Charging myself with intense Metatron, I fired a massive ball of energy at her. It flew straight at her and came close to hitting her, but a massive energy field stopped it short. She seemed to smile evilly at me.

"I'm coming!"

_Yep, no question about it.__ I'm in trouble._

AN: I'm sorry these chapters are short. I haven't reached a point where I can stretch them out yet, but it'll come.


	4. Anubis

Disclaimer: Same as before. I hate writing these.

**__**

**_Silvace_****_ Atronach-_**_ Yeah, I guess you're right. We should support one another. And don't worry. Jehuty is not going to sing._

Chap. 3

"Jehuty."

This was getting nowhere. I can't even get close to her. Her speed was outrageous. Every meter I get close to her, she takes three in random directions. Worse yet is that she's already struck me with several quick blows, all of them directly. I dashed back, but she closed in on me and caught me with yet another blow. As I flew back, I fired a few bolts of energy, but she sidestepped them with relative ease and came at me again. She let out another slash and I managed to dodge it at the last second, leaving her open.

_Got ya.___

My blade shot out through the field, but it kept my arm back enough to miss totally. She gave me a shadowy laugh before slashing out herself, knocking me to the ground. She continued laughing as she arched her arm back and let loose a few energy bolts. I moved out of the way, but she fired another swarm. As I continued to avoid her fire, some of her attacks hit the column in which she had come out. I back out of the way of the falling debris, but more bolt came through it.

_What the hell? _

Nephtis continued firing, destroying more of the surrounding area. I had to dodge both her and the falling debris. _One step at a time._ I quickly shot away from the debris while keeping my sight on Nephtis. She seemed to wait in one place for a breath moment before zooming off to the left and heading straight at me. I went to move back, but her speed exceeded mine, allowing her to cut across my armor three times with the third time knocking me into the far wall. Debris littered around me as I recovered. I then noticed that my hand had fallen on a long metal bar. _Perhaps I can use this._

She came at me at unbelievable speed. _I have to do it now!_ Arching my arm back, I quickly tossed the metal beam. It hit true, impaling her through the chest and into the wall. She didn't scream, but rather she just looked up at me, her dark mask shrouding her eyes.

"J...ehuty."

She then blacked out and I examined her. She looks a lot like Neith, aside from the few extras on her. I began sensing her. It matched Neith almost perfectly. But there seemed to be no runner in the cockpit. Almost as if this creature is some sort of specter. _At least she's down for good._

_Aumaan__..._

_Huh? What is that?_ I felt a presence, even more familiar than Nephtis. _But who?_ It was then that I noticed that my boy was resonating. And there's only one creature I knew that would cause this...

Flashback...

_I'm resonating? Someone is here. I know you._

_Hello, brother. We meet at last._

_Who...?_

_You actually beat Neith. I'm surprised. She was the best frame warrior I had._

_A...A...Anubis.___

_So you know who I am. Then you know why I'm here._

_Ahhhhhhhhhhh__!!!!_

_Die!_

_I have to get out of here now!_

_Come back brother. I'll find you again. It is out destiny!_

Flashback end...

_So he's here._ And there's no escape route this time. _Perhaps I'll get lucky._ My own words seemed hollow as I followed the energy into the next room. This one was wider than the others, possibly the resting area for frame warriors.

Suddenly, I froze. The sinister energy had increased immensely. I gripped my head, trying to deal with the overwhelming force. After a brief moment, it settled. The runner was a bit surprised by my reaction, but gave no sign of worry. Which is more than I could say for myself.

Then, 'he' appeared...

Standing before me was my crimson-colored twin brother, Anubis. His head bore a jackal-like headpiece, as befitting his name. His wrists were lined with dagger-like protrusions and his tail twitched behind him constantly. His body shimmered with Metatron, the very same Metatron as me. Folding his arms, a set of wings unfolded like a dark cloak, giving him a demonic appearance. His penetrating stare looked deep within me, as though he knew I was nervous, maybe even afraid of him. But why am I? He is my brother. But still, beyond our birth, we were nothing alike. And I don't think I'm ready to face him yet.

"Return to me, Jehuty."

It was a command, not a request. I found myself backing away a bit. Just look at me. The powerful Jehuty cowering before his own brother. That stopped me from backing away any more. He apparently sensed my slight defiance as his tail began to arch upward. Then, with a sharp flick of his tail, he vanished.

"What?"

My runner was equally surprised and I quickly searched around. Anubis reappeared, above in the beams. Quickly I fired upon him, but he disappeared again and reappeared to my left. I panicked and charged at him, blade extended. It came down, but Anubis blocked with a bladed lance. I tried to drive him down, but I couldn't. Rather he simply shoved me backward forcefully. I was driven back and stopped myself. Looking up, Anubis was gone again, only to reappear in the far corner. A suddenly burst of Metatron emitted out of him like spilled blood, obscuring my view. When my vision cleared, it was too late. A thick ball of Metatron energy blasted me back into one of the walls. _He's too powerful!_ I looked around, but he vanished again. I couldn't see him, but I felt his presence...behind me. I turned and he grabbed my head, swinging me around a bit.

"It was over before it began, Jehuty."

With one deft motion, he tossed me ground-ward. I managed to stop myself, but he was gone, again. He continued to disappear and reappear around me. I can't stop him. He then appeared...right in front of me. I backed away, but it wasn't enough as his hand shot out and grabbed me again, this time latching onto my face. I screamed in agony as ripples of energy found their way to my face and body.  _I can't stop him! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!_ I was in too much pain to notice that my runner was screaming as well, in the same pain. He then stopped, but kept his hold on me. I was too weak to fight back as that shock drained me totally. He hen reared back again and launched me at the wall.

_This is the end._

Suddenly, I was stopped. I realized that I didn't hit the wall. Someone had stopped me and caught me while I was flying. I was barely able to turn my head to my savior, only to find a bigger shock.

It was Nephtis...

But why did she save me? It didn't make sense. She released me and hovered upward. I turned back to Anubis, who was still before me. He face continued to hold that evil grin. _But why?_ I learned the answer soon enough. Suddenly, Nephtis hooked her legs onto my arms, seating her on my shoulders. I saw that she was holding a bar, the same metal bar that I'd impaled her with. She raised it over her head and I could swear I heard chuckling. Then in one swift motion, she kicked herself off of me, sending me straight into the wall. At the same time, she had gone into a flip and shot the bar at me while I was still flying. The end result was me slamming into the wall a second before the bar impaled me. I screamed in sheer agony while Nephtis went to the side of her master, who had been grinning the whole time. Despite my pain and fear, I managed to cast a glare at Anubis.

"Damn...you, Anubis."

He chuckled, "Now, now. What kind of language is that to use on your dear brother?" He whipped his tail a bit, "You're weaker than before, Jehuty. Looks like you've been asleep in the snow for far too long."

The pain was beginning to increase and I was losing consciousness, "Kill me and get it over with."

"Heh, don't be in such a rush to die. Your runner has the same dislike for me as the last one, which is why you hate me so. But don't worry. I'm here and I'll take good care of you."

"It doesn't matter the runner. I will always hate you. You tried to kill me."

"If I wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be having this conversation now. But enough of death. Guess what. The time is approaching."

"What...are you talking...about?"

"Oh, you know. The reason why we were born to begin with. The time has arrived to complete our destiny."

"I...don't...understand."

"Too bad. Well, you can find out when the time comes. Or you can try to defy me and get killed. Either way, the time is coming. And it is close." His head cocked slightly, "Hmm. Seems our runners know each other and want to talk. Time for you to go to sleep, Jehuty." My vision began to black out.

"Nighty, night brother."

_AN: Am I alone in saying that this is one of the coolest scenes in the game? Especially with that whole folding his arms and stretching his wings part. It just looks evil._


	5. Escape

Disclaimer: Same as before

**_Gray-_**_ He does. It will be posted in the next chapter._

**_Silvace_****_ Atronach-_**_ I believe this chapter will answer that question, partially_

**_Wing Zero Alpha-_**_ ZOE forever!_

Chap. 4

_Dormant again.__ I don't believe this._ I finally awaken just to be beaten by Nephtis and Anubis. Now I'm theirs. They'll probably give me a different runner, one loyal to Anubis. I hated that thought, mostly because it was possible. But I doubt it. Chances are they'll let me sit here until that day Anubis spoke of comes. _What was he talking about? I guess it'll take time to find out._ So here I was, asleep for a long time. _How do I know this, you may ask?_ Even when I am asleep, my senses are still active and aware of the world around me. It is that which communicates with the runner and allows me to use my powers. The runners call the sense ADA. _Strange names these humans create. _Anyway, I sense that I have been in this location for two months now. Just sitting here, waiting just like before. I am probably going to be here longer than before. Don't get me wrong. I can wait for all eternity in necessary. But I am a warrior of the frame and as such, feel the need to fight. _But fight who? Anubis?_ He'd tear me apart. But I can't just sit here while he roams free. If only there was a way.

One showed up...

My senses detected movement around me. Looking down, I saw the white-haired man from before. Only now, he was on a cot with several doctors around him.  His unshaven face was now shaved of the bumps of hair. Leading them was an orange haired girl. She seems familiar to me, but I don't know why. Anyway, they lift up the man and place him into the cockpit. I feel they are doing something, but what it is, I can not say. Then it happened.

"Arrrrgggghhhhhhhh!!!!"

The man jerks up and screams in agony. Surges of my metatron blood began to course through his body. At the same time, I feel a strange sensation. _What is this?_ The sensation increased and I find myself feeling a wave of nausea. _Nausea?_  But pretty soon, the sensation dissipated and I was stable again. But something was different. I can't explain it, but something was very wrong here.

_'What happened to me?'_

_Huh?_ Those aren't my thoughts. That's not even my voice. It was the runner's. But that's crazy. Usually, I can only feel what the runner feels, such as intention and such, but nothing totally solid. Now it's different. As though I can...actually know his thoughts and words. But there's more. I can vaguely feel his personality alongside mine. _What the hell is this?_

_'My body...connected to Jehuty. She's kidding, right?'_

_What? Connected to me? A human?_

The human...Dingo felt the same. He opened the cockpit and stood out briefly, looking up at the orange-haired runner that put him in. His thoughts were beginning to fade away from mine. Suddenly, he clutched his chest in pain. His body began to tremble and his had moved up to his throat, trying to breath. He managed to sit back inside and I felt the thoughts returned. He was surprised, and angry. I was merely surprised.

_'I can't believe she did this to me.'_

As he conversed with the woman, more of his thoughts began to enter with mine. It was disconcerting, but I was beginning to get used to it. I learn that the woman, Ken Marinas, was a spy from the Space Force. She had saved Dingo from Nohman, the runner of Anubis. But she also connected his vitals to me. _A form of control most likely._ Right now though, she wanted us to escape. Dingo was still angry, but he didn't have much of a choice. I on the other hand couldn't wait to get out of here. I rose up from the resting area that I had been and stretched myself. I've been here long enough. Wasting no time, I shot away and exited the gate.

Maybe I was a little hasty. I found myself in a wide, open corridor. Four exits were lined on the sides. _Great._ _Guess I'll have to sense my way out._ But before I could, my senses picked up something else. _Someone's...calling for help._

_'No way.__ I don't need this right now.'_

_What was he saying? Someone was in trouble and he wanted to ignore it?_ Fortunately for me, Ken 'convinced' him to find out who. I guess hooking him up to me wasn't too bad. Anyway, Dingo complied and I went to find the source of the call. It lead me to a container room. Large boxes of supplies lined the walls. I could sense the person within the room, most likely in one of the boxes, but I couldn't tell where. I would have to guess. I raised my arm parallel to me and aimed. _How do human do this? Let's see, eeny, minne, miney, mo._ I fired a light blast at the box.

"Ouch! Okay, I here." came the gruff reply,

I moved in closer as the box open and the figure came from hiding. It was a LEV soldier. The guy shook himself off before looking up at me. His face suddenly shifted into shock.

"Damn! BAHRAM!"

The box sealed right back up. What the...?

"Wait, I'm not with BAHRAM."

"The hell you aren't." he called out. "You're a frame warrior, ain't ya?"

"That is true. But nevertheless, I'm not with them. I came to help, remember?"

The box slowly reopened and he examined me. He didn't seem to trust me, but I don't think he's in a position to argue.

"Hmm. Well I don't think they would send a frame warrior to take out a soldier like me. Very well, I'll buy it."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here to assist my comrades on Mars. A few days ago, they went in search for a powerful Metatron technique in order to stop BAHRAM. But after they got it, they were attacked and are now stuck. I have to go find them and help them out."

"You're going alone?"

It's the only way. It's really important that I get to Mars.

"Sounds serious. What kind of technique is it?"

"They call it the Vector Cannon. You better believe it's serious. It may be the only way we can stand a chance to defeat BAHRAM."

_Defeat BAHRAM? Fat chance._ I don't care what kind of technique it is. I doubt it's powerful enough to defeat Anubis, much less his army. I shook my head slightly. I shouldn't be so pessimistic.

"The problem is that my weapons had been trashed during my last fight, so I'm going to need your help in getting there. Patrols have been going non-stop now, looking for me. But you're a warrior of the frame, so it shouldn't be too much trouble for ya."

_Great.__ A vote of confidence_

"Alright. I'll help you out. It's not going to be easy, but I'll do my best."

He gave me a strange look and then shook it off, "Oh, one more thing. I've found this technique deserted somewhere. I thought I could use it, but it seems that only frame warriors are capable of wielding its power, so you can have it."

His hand rose up to mine and I did the same. A bright green glow shimmered around him and swarmed at me, engulfing my body. I felt the new powers fill my body and the ritual ended, leaving me with the skill technique.

_-Geyser-_

He went on to explain, "From what I've read, it can freeze opponents for a while. The stronger you shoot it, the longer the hold. But if you use a weak one, it can spread out to others."

"Thanks. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Again, the strange look, "Let's get a move on, then."

I looked him over to see where I can hold him, but his body didn't have any such areas. Except...

"Go on. Get it over with."

I nodded and snatched at his head. He gave a short grimace, but he didn't complain.

"They always said I should lose weight."

I gave a short laugh and flew to the exit gate. The next doors opened and I looked outside. I saw two Raptors and two others I recognized. I grimaced. _Damn, Cyclops. This will take awhile._

I placed the soldier down by the gate. "I'm going to handle this. Wait here."

He gave me a distrustful look, but nodded anyway. I shot out and the four of them spotted me immediately.

_'Alright, boys.__ Let's dance.'_

_Dingo._ Well at least he has the right idea. My energy wings opened and I shot right at them. The two Raptors engaged me first and struck out. My blade clashed with the first one, but the second Raptor was too close to avoid. He slashed down my back and I moved away. _Backstabbing little..._

Unfortunately, my attention was diverted when I noticed one of the Cyclops's was glowing in red Metatron. It shot it arms forward and all I could see was a wave coming right at me. I barely dodged it and the wave smashed into the wall. I looked back up to see his partner doing the same. I moved again, dodging it totally this time.

"I could use some help here!"

I turned around. The soldier was pushed out into the open and the two Raptors were attacking him. He was swinging his damaged gun like a bat, but it was useless as they began to pick him apart. I looked up and dodged yet another wave. _Just had to get complicated, right? _But I better reach the soldier before they kill him. I swooped in on the Raptors and attacked the nearest one. As it turns out, they were too busy attacking him to notice me. I stabbed my blade into the first one, sending it careening into the wall. The second one stopped his attack and looked over at me, but I was ready for him too. Raising the same arm, I fired quick bursts of energy, causing him to stumble back. Wasting no time, I swooped in on him and slashed him repeatedly until he exploded.

"Behind you!"

The warning caught me just in time as I twisted around and blocked the slash of the Raptor. _Just don't know when to quit._ I broke through my own block and slashed at him. It hit the wall again, but began to rise back up. This guy's persistent. I gave a short glance back at the Cyclopes, who were beginning to close in on me. Acting fast, I grabbed the downed Raptor and tossed him at his partners. It hit the Cyclops and exploded, taking the Cyclops with him. Alright. With only one left, I charged and slashed out. But the Cyclops blocked the blow. I tried again, but he continued to block it. Then with one of his massive fist, he slugged me in the fast. I growled. _That's why I don't like these guys. High close range skills. But still..._

I charged again and the Cyclops got ready. When I was close enough, he struck out again. But at the same time, I change direction, shooting myself above him. He seemed confused and turned around, only to see the big ball of energy I was holding.

_'Hasta la vista, baby.'___

I let it fly and the Cyclops exploded. Letting out a small breath, I hovered down to the soldier, who was currently raising himself up.

"Well, that was close. This sucks. The sooner I'm out of here, the better."

"Well, you'll get your chance. The launch catapult is over here."

He moved over and opened the side hatch. Sure enough, there it was. He moved toward it.

"What is it?"

I blinked, "Huh? Oh it nothing. It's seems that my runner isn't too fond of yours. He finds him a little on the jumpy side."

To my surprise, the LEV soldier laughed. I was expecting him to take some sort of offense to that or something.

"You'll have to forgive him. He's a brave fellow, but a little edgy. Can't say I blame him. But I have to look out for him."

"I know the feel..." My senses suddenly picked up something. Several objects were moving toward us. "Huh? Raptors are coming." I turned to him, "Get going!"

He seemed a bit hesitant, but there's nothing he can do for me right now.

"Sure thing."

He closed the hatch and the sound of the catapult echoed behind me, signaling his escape. I turned back to the Raptors, who were all lined up in battle formation. _Wait. __Battle__ formation?__ Since when do they have battle formations?_

The Raptor in the middle suddenly lit up in a strange aura and they all attacked. Two of them stabbed out at me. I dodged the strike just to see the other two come up from behind me. I turned and fired, but they split up and dodge. At the same time, the first two swooped up and rammed into me. And stopped myself, but the second pair was already on me. Charging quickly, I struck out. However, they split up again and from behind them, the first two charged and struck me down, this time into the ground. I looked up. _What the heck? Since when do they fight like this?_ It was a though someone was...directing their attacks. It was then that I notice that the glowing Raptor was motionless.

_'That's the commander.'_

I swooped in to attack, but the four attacking Raptors blocked my path. There has to be a way to slow them down. _Wait, that's it. My Geyser technique._ The four Raptors charged and I waited. When they came close enough, I formed several balls of energy in my hands.

"Geyser!"

The balls hit two of the Raptors while the resulting light beams stopped the rest, freezing them all. _Alright, it worked. Now..._ I swooped around them and went for the leader. To his credit, he was still able to fight and our blades clashed. During the struggle, I glanced back and noticed that the Raptors were already getting loose and coming this way. My desperation fueled my power and I pushed the commander back. Wasting no more time, I stabbed my blade in him and ripped him in half, just as the others had reached me. At his destruction, the other Raptors pause and seemed to weaken around me. _Perfect._ I gave myself a quick charge and spun around in a 180 degree angle. The spin cut them all to shreds and they exploded. _That was close._ I opened the gate leading outside. Before me stood the fiery colored planet of Mars.

_'Mars.__ It doesn't look anything different.'_

I couldn't agree with him seeing as how this was my first time here. Then I noticed something. The walls around me were vibrating slightly. As they did, I could feel a slight rattle behind me. The rattling increased and I could feel energy behind them. Something was coming. More like someone. My senses felt the presence of someone coming at high speed, literally busting through the closed gates in a rampage. The presence finally dawned on me, much to my dismay.

_Aw, crap. Nephtis._

I turned around to the opened gate. I can't fight her now. If I do, it may draw Anubis. Besides, she kicked my butt horribly last time. I would have to retreat. 

_'I don't want to fight Viola, even if she is AI.'_

_Is that your reason? Well either way, let's get out of here._ Powering myself to full, I shot out of the gate and into space, heading down toward Mars. I left just as she burst through the final gate. But she didn't follow. Rather she rasped...

"Run, Jehuty. I will hunt you down and I will kill you."


	6. Vic Viper

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own this, blah, blah, blah.

**_Silvace_****_ Atronach_**_- It's the only level I've played it on, heh._

Italics indicate thoughts

( '…….' Indicates when Dingo is thinking)

(-…….- indicates a memory)

(Plain italics indicates when Jehuty is thinking)

Chap. 5

_Mars._ The fiery colored planet named after the Roman god of war. And from the looks of things on the surface, that name is justified. Ruined structures were scattered all over before me. _What could have done this to an entire world?_ I continued my descending flight an ultimately landed on a hill overlooking a canyon with more ruins. As I looked, the sun was setting on the horizon. That seemed to be the only beautiful sight here. Everything else was desolation. This had to be the work of BAHRAM, Anubis's army. _But why?_Even for someone as maniacal as Anubis, this was just too much. While I pondered these things, Dingo was conversing with Ken. Which I found distracting seeing as how his thoughts kept interlinking with mine. Anyway, from what I've learned, things were not good.

BAHRAM had grown in power since the times that I slept. Because of Anubis's power, all of his forces had grown in power as well because of him. The Space Forces of Earth became helpless as it was completely dominated by it on Mars, thus BAHRAM now controlled Mars. The few that were still alive tried one last ditch effort to stop them.

_'That was foolish.'_

Unfortunately, I had to agree with him. And that is what happened. BAHRAM crushed them and they were scattered further. It was then that one of them found the Vector Cannon technique. But they seemed to have disappeared, which was what the LEV soldier on Phobos was here to find them. _But still, why all of this? What is the point?_

_-The reason why we were born to begin with. The time has arrived to complete our destiny.-_

_What destiny? Unless..._

_Aumann__.___

_I should have known._ That was what he was talking about. He was right. _I have been asleep in the snow too long._ Aumaan was Anubis's fortress. It was created solely for his use. Once it is finished, no one will be able to stop either Anubis or Aumaan. The fortress will become a million times stronger than Anubis himself, out-rightly becoming the most powerful force in existence. The Vector Cannon technique was the only thing that can break through its gates and allow for an attack.

_How could I have forgotten this? About Aumaan? _That was one of the first things I knew when I awoke. Maybe it was...because I wanted to forget. Because I knew what would happen. In truth, the fortress of Aumaan could also be controlled by me, since I am Anubis's twin. And it is because of that that I am powerful enough to fight against BAHRAM. It is what I am destined for. _My destiny...and my curse._

_'Someone's coming.'_

Dingo's thought alerted my own senses as well. _Something was coming, fast._ I tried to pinpoint it and I was directed toward the sun. At first, I saw nothing. But then, a sparkle appeared within. It came closer, at rapid speed. When it was close enough, I was able to make out its shape.

_A bird?___

A metallic falcon was flying straight at me, like a bat out of hell. It swooped through the canyon rocks and boulders with great agility. Suddenly, its eyes glowed and beams of light shot out..._at me!_ I barely dodged as the beams destroyed the rocky outcrop behind me. The flying raptor continued toward me and flew over my head. As it did, I felt something...strange. I turned, ready for it to make another pass, but what I saw instead shocked me.

The falcon had swept its wings forward and suddenly spun in the air. But as it did, it changed. The rolling bird became a mass of changing parts. It then stopped spinning and stopped itself in mid-spin. It had transformed into a humanoid figure; its wings swept on it back. He gave me a glare and I knew this was going to be trouble.

_'I'll shoot it down.'_

_No Dingo, wait._ But that didn't stop me from firing a couple of bolts at him. The falcon-warrior dodged the blasts easily and reverted into its bird form. It then swooped off into the sky, circling around me. His wings rose slightly and the feathers fell off. The feathers swarmed at me and I had to dodge them. The feathers hit the mountain behind me and destroyed it. _He's using them like missiles!_ He continued to fly and drop his feathers, destroying the area around me as I dodged them. _Guess I'll have to stop him after all._

As he flew in for another pass, I did a spread beam attack. Beam trails of light followed, but they were unable to catch up to his speed. I tried again, but with the same results. It was then that he slowed down and hovered in one spot. I guess now we can talk.

_I hate being wrong._

The falcon suddenly screeched out and ripples of sonic waves hit me. I was hurled back a bit, but I wasn't too badly hurt.

"Here I come!"

The falcon changed into his warrior form once again and charged. I raised my blade just in time to block his strike. Even though he had no blades, his clawed hands were weapon enough. We clashed in the air repeatedly and I could see this was getting nowhere. He was anticipating my every strike. _Just who is this guy?_ I jumped back to re-evaluate him. From the looks of his armor, he looks like a LEV soldier, but unlike any I had seen before. And I certainly don't remember any of them having the skill to transform. And his aura…_Why did he feel so..._ However, my thoughts were interrupted when I saw him glowing in bright yellow. He shot his hand forward and a burst of energy slammed into me, really hard. I flew back a great distance until I hit the side of the cliff, hurting me more. _Geez__, even Anubis doesn't hit like that._ I shook it off just as the warrior came at me again, talons flailing through the air. I rapidly put my shield up and his strikes were blocked. _A little too well_, I noticed. Releasing the shield, we clashed again and as before, neither of us hit each other. Seeing that he was getting nowhere with me like this, he reverted back into his bird form. I watched him swoop around me and release a swarm of feathered missiles. I had to move constantly to avoid them all and he swooped away. _Was he retreating? _No such luck. The falcon came straight at me again and let out..._a tail?_ Three blue-glowing feathers were now trailing behind him in a shimmering light.

"Die, BAHRAM!"

The feathers now seemed to have multiplied as swarms of them came at me. I had to use every skill and maneuver I knew just to dodge them. _This can't get worse._ The falcon then stopped in mid-air and let out a loud screech, sending out ripples of energy. But unlike before, there were now three waves of them coming at me. _I really ought to shut up._ Thinking fast, I shot backward, just enough for the ripples to converse and pass around me harmlessly. Looking forward, I saw my opponent was still. _He's open._ Quickly I charged the metatron into a solid sphere and let it fly. The falcon was hit hard and was forced to revert into its humanoid state again. Growling slightly, he charged at me again and sparks flew from the exchange. He backed away to charge again, but instead of fighting back, I put my shield up. His strikes didn't penetrate me and he was left open again. _Now!_ Without a second lost, I charged and unleashed my fury against the winged warrior. He let out a cry of pain and flew backward. Finally, something is going my way.

_I **really** ought to shut up._

Somehow, he managed to stop himself in mid-air and charge at me again. Talon and blade clashed once more and we were held in a lock. _This is crazy_. I don't care if he's a LEV or not. No one is normally this strong. _Who is he? Why does he feel so...?_

"I'm not your enemy!"

"You're a Frame warrior. What else can you be?" came the shrill reply.

I continued to struggle with him. _Why does he feel so...familiar?_ I never met this guy before, and yet...wait. Not him; the runner. I've faced this runner before. No, not faced. This one is too distinct to be someone I fought. Distinct enough for me to remember where I felt this before.

"Leo?"

The winged warrior jumped back away, obviously surprised by what I said.

"How do you know...?" He stopped briefly and then started again, surprise on his face once more. "Jehuty? You are Jehuty?"

"Yes."

"So...we finally meet."

"Who are you?"

The winged warrior spread his wings slightly, "LEV warrior V2. Call me Vic Viper."

I examined him, once again noting his appearance.

"You're a LEV?"

His eyes narrowed, "Don't be so surprised. It's the runner, not the frame that makes the difference. You above all people should know that."

It was true. My true force and power could only be released by the runner. Leo may have been a kid when he awakened me, but he had an unprecedented natural talent. But what was he doing out here?

"What brings you out here?"

The same as you, I gather." He then added grimly, "Aumaan."

"I see..." I tried to push away the negative thought, but it apparently echoed in my voice.

"So it is true. You are ...cursed."

I wasn't really surprised by this. Leo knew about my dark destiny with Aumaan. "Yes. I have been cursed with destruction should I be defeated or taken into Aumaan. It was a safeguard in case something went wrong."

"And you are still going?"

"If I can defeat Anubis and stop Aumaan, then my life if worth giving."

"And what about your runner? Does he feel the same?"

I was going to answer when...

_'Self destruct? Are you crazy?'_

"Apparently not. But he will go."

Vic gave me a penetrating glance, "How are you sure?"

"Long story. Sufficient to say, he feels the same way as you. He wants to save me by defeating Anubis."

"Sorry Jehuty, but if anyone is going to take down Anubis and stop Aumaan, it's going to be me."

"What do you mean?"

"Leo cares a great deal about what happens to you and he doesn't want you killing yourself. That's why we're going to handle things."

"But..."

"Don't argue. Think of it this way. If I fail my mission, then you can have a crack at it. I'm going there as soon as I help the Earth Force soldiers."

"Fine then. Why not? Okay, I'll give you a head-start."

"That's all I'll need. Speaking of which, you'll need this."

"What...?"

His clawed hand reached out to me and a bright green glow shimmered around him and swarmed at me, engulfing my body. _Wait, this is...another technique._ I felt the new powers fill my body and a new ability became a part of me.

**_-Gauntlet-_**

Vic spoke again, "Judging by the way it worked on you, it's quite useful. It's not powerful in itself, but in closed environment like this one, it's a nightmare. It has enough force to smash an opponent into nearby wall and damage them further."

"Hey, give me a break."

"Heh, I suggest you watch yourself." His look became dark, "Frame warrior or not, this place is under BAHRAM control. Proceed with caution." He then smiled, "It'll make my job a lot easier."

With that, Vic Viper turned around and began to morph into his bird form. With a powerful thrust he shot away into the skies once again.

"Until we meet again, Frame Warrior Jehuty."

_AN: Sorry about the above instructions, but I noticed that I use italics a lot in this chapter so I didn't want people to be confused._


	7. Low Road

Disclaimer: You know the drill

_AN: Sorry for the long wait._

**_Wing Silver Alpha/ Gray_**_- I had no idea I made Vic Viper seem arrogant. But maybe I could use that to deepen the story._

**_KrystalRozes_**_- Me too.__ I'm just begging to get to the other Frames_

**_Silvace_****_ Atronach_**_- Arigato_

**_Steel Jaguar_**_- It kind of strange to work with, but that just makes it all the more interesting. Thank you._

Chap. 6

Based on the information from Ken, Aumaan was located deep within the Vascilla territory. He would have to go in low to avoid the battleships in the skies. Luckily, there was a passageway that led down there where there was far less resistance. _Might as well take it easy for once._ But I should have known better because my senses were picking up something coming at high speed. _Vic? No, it's too small._ And it doesn't feel like him. Looking around, I finally saw it com at me in a flame of energy. I dodged just as the thing passed me and transformed. It was some warrior, obviously from BAHRAM, but I've never seen this one before.

_Narita.___

The creature hovered around me before changing into some kind of fiery bird. I them swooped straight at me, screeching loudly. The bird razed me across the chest and I backed off to the side. The wound was minor and already healing. The bird reverted back into it original form and attacked. I raised my shield and the creature slashed against it harmlessly.

_My turn.___

Dropping the shield, I struck it repeatedly and in my final slash, knocked it downward into the ground causing it to explode. _That was interesting. Now to get out of…_

Suddenly, I sensed three more objects flying at me and the same high speed. Turning toward the direction, I saw three more Narita flying at me. Two of them continued to come while the third stayed back and began firing energy bolts at me. I narrowly dodged the strike and the bolts, but they were turning around for another pass. This could get difficult.

Time to test Gauntlet.

I held me arm back and concentrated. A slight crackle formed in my hand and yellow sparks danced around. It didn't feel powerful, but I should know better since I was hit with it. One of the Naritas shot at me, again in its firebird form. I dodged the charge and quickly shot my arm forward.

"Gauntlet!"

The sparks hit the Narita dead on and I watched as it helplessly sailed straight into a nearby cliff and became impaled in one of the canyons' sharp edges.

One down...

The second one flew at me while its partner fired spark of electricity at me. Both were easy to avoid, but I was caught off-guard by yet a fourth Narita. The minion slashed me repeatedly with his sharp talon and I was forced to fall back. Then both Naritas charged in their forms again, knocking me back further and against the canyon wall. Shaking it off, I looked up to a very bad sight. All four Naritas had transformed and were flying at me now. I had to move fast. Raising my hand, I charged the Metatron into a sphere immediately. I didn't hold it any longer than that and I let it loose. The blast hit all four and even though it didn't damage them much, it still managed to stop their assault. Just enough for...

"Geyser!"

The balls of energy swooped out of my hand and snagged three of the four minions, rendering them powerless. One managed to avoid it, but that was a problem I was going to rectify right now. Its dodge had led it straight toward me and with four power slashes, it became no more. I returned my attention to the other three, who had freed themselves from the Geyser attack. One of them changed again and flew at me. I merely sidestepped the charge and grabbed him. Then with a quick flick, I hurled him at his partner, causing both of them to crash into the canyon and exploding. With only one left, I turned to see the last one almost upon me. I'm not sure if it was instinct on my part of Dingo's, but my head flicked off to the side and his attack missed. Spinning around, I unleashed another Gauntlet blast and it slammed it against the wall. However, he was still active and began to move. But he didn't get far as he found a blade stabbed into him, pinning him to the wall. I removed my blade and flew back. All of them were destroyed now. _You just keep making new ways to annoy me don't you, Anubis?_

I flew through the lower gate that led to the passageway. But it was shielded by a powerful energy gate. In order to pass, I would have to destroy one of the two seals powering it. I decided on going to the one on the left. The route seemed shorter and less guarded. I moved through the canyon easily. The space between rocks was wide, so maneuvering wasn't a problem. However, any idiot could use this terrain and have a massive advantage. My theory was proven right when three Raptors appeared to attack me. They were currently guard the gate behind them. But one variable was left out. 

They hadn't counted on me.

Shrrassshhhh!! Sskkkk!!!! Slashhhhhhh!!!!

In no time at all, the Raptors were shredded and I was allowed to pass though the gate. I approached a tunnel and entered. Ahead of me were several spheres floating in the air. _What are those?_ It was only until I moved closer that I found out.

Homing mines!

I backed away, but it was too late. A few of them had attached themselves to me and began to count down. I shot back, trying to shake them off of me. I managed to get a few before they detonated, but the rest exploded on me. I shot back again, injured and in serious pain. Worse yet, the remaining mines were still coming. I started to fly up again when a blue object caught my eye.

_Could that be...? Yes, Metatron._

Almost without thinking, I shot toward the box and absorbed the Metatron. My body glowed and the pain subsided. My injuries healed quickly and I was back at 100%. But that didn't matter to the still oncoming mines. I shot back again at full power and concentrated. I began to sense the movements of all the mines. When I was finished, I lurch my arm out and my spread beam ripped through the mines, leaving none behind. Task completed, I continued onward though the next gate. There, I was put in a wide open area.  A massive structure stood before me.

There it is.

The massive seal shimmer with electricity before me. Looking around, there was no opposition to stop me. This is just too convenient. Hesitantly I raised my arm, making ready to bring it back down in the moment of an attack. Nothing. The metatron sphere formed and began to grow. Still nothing. This still made me edgy. But I guess beggars can't be choosers. I let the sphere fly and it impacted the seal with tremendous force. It crumbled and fell to the ground in pieces. Strange. I was certain of an attack party of something. It was then that the gate behind me sealed and a formation of Mummyheads materialized. Thought so. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. The six Mummyheads locked into formation and came right at me. They must have waited until after the seal was broken before ambushing me in massive formation.

_Their mistake..._

I suddenly charged at the creatures as they fired at me. But their weapons weren't having any effect. I swooped through the first two. I had to get to the commander first. There he is, right in the center. But before I could reach him, six beams of light and energy flailed out, almost shredding me. Looking upward, I saw the three remaining Mummyhead using the Halbred technique, waving the energy like massive swords. I had to weave, dive and swoop to avoid the columns of energy. At the same time, the first two began to follow me, still firing stray projectiles. Okay, plan A is dead. Time for plan B. I still had to get to the commander. And I know just how.

Suddenly, I reversed direction and charged at one of the advancing Mummyhead. If they had emotions, I'd bet they would be surprised. My blade extended and I stabbed one through. At this, the other three turned and repeatedly used Halbred.  Holding the downed enemy, I stuck him in front, using him as a shield. The Halbred hit him with unrelenting force and it exploded. Using this, I dodged upward and summoned a Gauntlet blast. The commander was hit and it smashed into the wall, but was still active. _Tough guy, huh._ A spray of beams indicated the other Mummyhead was still coming.  I flew toward him, ignoring the pain as I was shot and smashed my clawed hand into him. Now with him in my grip, I spun myself around rapidly. The other three were advancing, but that didn't matter. I released it at the end of the spin and sent it careening right into the commander, destroying them both. At this, the remaining three slowed down, apparently weakened.

_You're mine!_

Locking on to them, I arched my hand out, emitting beams of light that swarmed out an around for a bit before hitting their target. Because of their weakened conditions, the beams utterly destroyed them. 

_'Don't mess with Jehuty.'_

I couldn't help but smile at Dingo's remark. Now it was time to head back. The journey back was easier than before as they didn't get enough time to summon reinforcements. Reaching the gate I found that it had been shut down, just as it was supposed to. As I entered, I saw the underground gate that would lead into Vascilla. All he had to do was go through it. _Piece of cake._

Suddenly, the energy gate closed up behind him and I could sense a presence moving rapidly toward me. An object fell from the sky, shooting up dirt an obscuring my vision. When it cleared...

_I really, **really** should shut up._

It was Nephtis. She must have tracked me here. _That was fast!_ I could just feel the dark smile formed on face.

"I've found you. Get ready!"


	8. Round 2

Disclaimer: Same as before

**__**

**_Wing Zero Alpha_**_- Thank you. And yes, he does like throwing cannon fodder at Jehuty. What villain doesn't ne?_

**_Spadde_**_- Thank you. I will._

Chap. 7

"I've found you. Get ready!"

Wham! It didn't take her long to get into the fight. Nephtis had swooped at me so suddenly and smashed herself right into me. That strike alone hurt me badly.

"Come on!" she taunted. "Entertain me."

Reacting to it, I quickly fired an energy blast. But it failed to even slow her down and instead hit a green field around her.

_No, not this again._

An insane chuckle rang out of her as she circled, waiting for an opening. She found one, and swooped at me again. I swiftly dodged, but missed only by a hair and was hit back by her backwash. I shook the dizziness away just to she her coming at me again. _Damn it. Doesn't she let up?_ I raised my shield as she waved her arms; the blades of her weapon following the motions. I slashed out in attack, but the shield was too big for my blade to reach her. She took advantage of my error, grabbed my shoulders, and flipped backwards, tossing me straight into the rocky wall.

"Aw, you're no fun. Guess I'll have to put you out of your misery."

I again shook my head. _This is crazy. I can't fight her like this._ My current techniques wouldn't be too effective against her here. And there are no poles around to toss at her this time. She began to charge her body again for another strike. I had to at least stop that. But my shield wouldn't be strong enough to withstand that. Looking to the side, I saw a couple of solar panels lined up against the wall.

_'Better than nothing I suppose.'_

_Dingo's right. I don't have a choice._ I grabbed the panel and put it in front of me to guard just as she soared at me. The impact smashed me further against the wall, but surprisingly, I wasn't hurt. Which is more than I could say about the panel, which had exploded on impact. But looking out, I noticed something strange. _Her field.__ It's down._ And she must have hurt herself as well because she was drifting backward. _Now!_ I quickly shot forward and slashed away on her, using the last strike to knock her floorward. She hit the ground in a gratifying slam and I charged again. However, she didn't stay in the same spot and came at me instead. Our blades clashed and we struggled.

_Now this was familiar..._

_Flashback..._

_It's you! Neith._

_So you've finally come, Jehuty. I've been waiting for this_

_CHHHHSSSHHHHHHH!!!!!!_

_All this death.__ You are the one responsible for all of it!_

_And if I am?___

_Damn it._

_Hehehe__.__ Come on. Come at me!_

_Flashback end..._

We both broke away from each other and her field came up again. _Damn, I didn't hurt her enough._ She zipped away from me and charged again. I managed to avoid this one, but only because she was far enough for me to dodge. And judging by the way she was circling me now, I wouldn't be that lucky a second time.

She started glowing...

I looked around...

The glow intensified...

My eyes found another solar panel...

She set herself to launch...

I grabbed the panel...

She came full force...

I put it up just as soon as hit me, pushing me back a bit, but having the desired effect. Nephtis was again damaged and had faltered backward. I had to make this count. I lunged forward and smashed her back with a stabbing motion of my blade. She flew back far, apparently damaged. _Finally…___

_I really, really, **really **ought to shut up._

As she flew back, she suddenly closed herself and turned a damaging blow into a graceful flip. She spun through the air and landed feet first into the wall, causing a deal of dust to fly out. Her face poked out of the dust.

"Ah, ah. We've only just begun!"

She kicked her feet off the wall and launched herself at me. I was caught off-guard as she tackled into me and continued on.

_'No.'_

She continued on, still holding me and I managed to turn my head slightly. She's heading straight into the gateway, with me up front and about to hit it.

Looks like I was going to Vascillia the hard way.

WHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!


	9. Vascillia

Disclaimer: Same as usual. Getting low reviews here people.

Chap. 8

**_Boom! Boom! Boom!_**

I was being slammed through every single gate on the way down and Nephtis was still holding on, laughing as she continued on through a pair of generators. Clearly, she was enjoying this ride more than I was. Just when I thought it couldn't be worse (and it always does), she released me. I thought she had finally let me go in order to fight, but instead she had propelled me straight into an energy field. I shrieked in agony as she hovered before me.

"Pain. Such an interesting feeling, isn't it?"

I had to gather every ounce of my willpower to rip out of the field and into the air. I took a brief look around. We were in Vascilla alright, but the energy field had us surrounded in a square. Us, as in me and her. Meaning that I was now stuck with the royal queen of unnecessary brutality. _Just my luck._

"Well then, let's continue Jehuty!"

Her arms waved around, releasing bolts of energy as the battle began anew. I was once again reduced to dodging her attacks. I decided to retaliate and I fire bolts of my own, but to my utter dismay, her energy force-field was still in place. _Damn, how am I going to stop her now?_ No poles and no panels. Just me, her and this damn...field. _Wait a second._ The field. If it could hurt me, then there's a good chance it could hurt her too. I just had to find a way for her to get caught in it. My thoughts were interrupted when she swooped at me and struck out. Her petal-like protrusions extended onto her arms as she slashed me across my arm before I could block. I grasped my hand in pain as she charged again. Reactively, I rolled up into the sky as she slashed out again. Looking up, she flew after me, slashing repeatedly with me desperately trying to avoid her strikes.

'Damn. She doesn't give up.'

_Tell me about it._ But maybe I can use this to my advantage. I suddenly shot away at full speed, actually managing to leave her behind. I stopped right in front of the field and I had to try a bit not to be pulled in by the field's magnetic pull. Turning around, I saw Nephtis but she wasn't following me. Rather, her entire body was shimmering with Metatron.

"Take this!"

The petals spread open behind her, launching three balls of energy heading straight at me. I dodged the projectiles, but I was a little slow due to the field. I didn't notice that she was glowing again and suddenly rushing straight at me like a missile. When I looked up, she was two seconds away from plowing into me.

'Move!"

At the very last split second, I inched myself upward, getting caught in her backwash but she missed me totally. As I maneuvered myself to recover, she continued on her course and smashed right into the energy field. Sparks of electricity fried her body as she screamed. Shaking my daze off, I prepared to move in and stop her for good when she suddenly broke free. _Damn, it didn't hold her long enough._ Worse yet, she looked really pissed.

Her body charged quickly and she attacked. The halo behind her encircled her and began spinning around with the petals like a buzz-saw. I dodged the attack, but not enough as the saw clipped my leg. _Ahhhhhhh__!_ I backed away as the petals and halo returned to their place. Again she shimmered, but I would be ready this time. The charge came and once again I was able to dodge it. But before she could hit the field again, she suddenly stopped, right in front of it.

"Ah, ah, ah. Shame on you."

At this point, I was strangely annoyed. So annoyed that I only reacted as my hand shot out a Gauntlet blast. The projectile hit her dead on and smashed her right into the field. All right. _Now to end this, Nephtis._ With a cry I charged at Nephtis and slashed her right across her chest. She screamed in the agony of the slash as well as the field and she rattled within it. The generators creating the field began to overload and they shorted out altogether, blowing her and themselves up. Nephtis fell to the dirt ground and lay still, defeated. _Finally._ It's about flaming time. I hovered down to her still body, checking to make sure she was down this time. But as I moved a sudden flash of green shot up from her and engulfed me. I was surprised, but unhurt. _That glow..._It's the same as when the LEV soldier gave me Geyser. And when Vic gave me Gauntlet. That means...

_-Comet-_

I looked at my hand as if to study the new technique. I could have tested it now, but I didn't want to use up unnecessary energy. I looked back down at the body of Nephtis. I could hear Dingo talk about his former comrade.

'She was always someone I could trust. It's unfortunate.'

But this wasn't really her. It was just a ghost, a wraith of her that refused to die. But I had to consider my runners feelings. I looked at my hands again. _I guess...she came in handy after all._

_"Ah, Jehuty.__ I see that you got away."_

Huh. I began to sense someone calling me, telepathically. I can do that with other Frame Warriors as well as LEV soldiers.

_"Who is this?"_

_"Such a short memory you got there. It's me, T. Remember, from Deimos."_

T? Oh, yeah, it was the LEV soldier I met in Deimos. I wasn't sure he was still alive.

_"So that's your name, huh? Anyway, what is it?"_

_"I've managed to find the Eight-Heads troop with the Vector technique but they're trapped on a cliff. I'm on my way there to help them now."_

_"I'm going to head there..."_

A sudden series of explosion broke my mental connection. Looking into the city, I saw fierce fireworks erupting all over the place. Sounds of battle. In the far distance, I could see the invading horde of Spiders attacking the city. Many humans were panicking and running into buildings for shelter. Nearby, another platoon of LEV soldiers was fighting the Spiders.

'What are they crazy?'

_Crazy?__ What do you..._It was then that I realized what Dingo meant. The soldiers were fighting right in among the people. _What are they doing?_ They should try to move the battle away, not fight with innocents around. I sent a mental message to the leader.

_"Stop. There are innocent people around."_

I was greeted with a gruff reply. _"Who is this? We don't have time for this."_

I ignored him and went on. _"You can't fight while there are innocent people around."_

_"The humans do not matter. Victory is more important than a few lowly mortals."_

I don't know if it was that response or the response I was feeling from Dingo, but now I was royally pissed off at this guy. Still, he isn't the problem right now, the Spiders were. _Great._ Now I have to stop BAHRAM from hurting innocent people by helping a few military @$$clowns. My wings opened forth.

_Today just isn't my day, is it._


	10. Collateral Damage

Disclaimer: Same as before.

_AN: This is a long chapter._

Chap. 9

_Why me? Why always me?_ I had to protect innocent people from both BAHRAM's attack and the LEV unit's stray fire. This was not going to be easy. But even still, I refuse to just let innocents get slaughtered, not if I can help it. Life is far too valuable. I swooped out into the field and examined the layout. From the looks of it, the people were housed in giant structures. The LEV's were fighting in among them and at that rate, more than just stray fire would occur. I had to stop the LEV's first, but I can't hurt them. They may not be the best people at the moment, but they aren't BAHRAM either. I would have to use Geyser to hold them back. I could see a small wave of Spiders coming over the ridge and attacking. The Space Force fired back, and both didn't seem to care that they were drawing close to one of the buildings. I moved myself right over the two LEV soldiers that were fighting.

"Geyser. Hold them in place!"

The balls of light fell toward them and the beams that came after stopped them in their tracks.

"What the...? I can't move."

I almost apologized, but shook the thought of as I circled toward the Spiders. My blade extended, I slashed the first one, only to have it bounce around due to the energy shield. Attacking again, the creature exploded and I moved to the next one. But as I attacked that one, I could see that the others were advancing toward the residential areas. So instead of attacking the second, I grabbed it and tossed it at the lead Spider. Both creatures exploded and I swooped in and repeated the action with the other two, destroying them as well.

"No!"

I heard the cries of people in another building. The Spiders were advancing on it and the LEV's were backed up against it. The building was a distance away, so I had to move fast. When I gotten close enough, I let Geyser loose again, freezing both the LEV's and the Spiders. This was more than helpful as the Spider's shields were off, making destroying them easier. But as I was destroying them, a second group came from behind me, hitting me in the back. Now if it's one thing I couldn't stand was getting backstabbed. I turned and was ready to slice them down when my hand instinctively shot forward and sprays of projectiles shot out, hitting them all at once and eventually destroying them. It took me a moment to recognize it as a technique

_Phalanx?__ We're did I get this from?_

At this moment, it didn't matter. More screams could be heard and I had to move again. I saw two buildings that were under attack and that were in major trouble. But I had only enough time for one. I chose the one in the distance. It was suffering from more damage than the other one. But as to not forget, as I passed over the first one, I let a shower of Geyser fall. _That should hold them for now._ I swooped to the building when...

**KABOOM!!!!!!!!!**

The building had collapsed right before me. The screams of the people inside were accompanied by the sounds of explosions.

'Damn.'

All those people...were dead. _Everyone...Men...women...children...all of them._ I shook it away. I have to keep going. I turned back around at the building that I passed. It was starting to look worse and the Geyser I had set had worn off. _No, I won't let it happen again._ I shot straight at the building and raised my shield, preventing them from hitting the building. But this won't work for long. I had to do get rid of them fast. I couldn't summon my Metatron sphere, not without the shockwave accidental destroying the building. And Phalanx was too weak to destroy them in time. _Wait a minute. What about the weapon I received from Nephtis? It's worth a shot._

"Comet!"

My hands fired blue ball than shimmered toward them. It hit the first Spider, bounced off and destroyed another one. _Alright.__ This may work._ I let loose two more and they had the same effect, destroying one and then bouncing off to another. The Spiders were now all destroyed and I took a breather. Using all of those techniques was a little draining.

"Get out of our way! We didn't ask for your help."

I wasn't in the mood. Not for this. Those people could have been saved if they had acted with more care.

"What did you think you were doing? Many innocents could have gotten killed."

The commander grumbled, "That doesn't matter. All that matters is getting rid of BAHRAM." He then added, "Besides, they're just humans. They're not even runners. They're expendable."

If I wasn't so focused on regaining my strength right now, I would have grabbed him right now and tossed him into a wall. Dingo was sharing my anger.

"Expendable? Say another word and you'll be the ones that are expendable."

_Why are these people so stupid?_ There's a big difference between battle and massacre. But they didn't seem to care either way. These are the ones I am trying to save? I calmed myself. I was angry, hurt, and tired. _Not a good combination._

_"Vic.__ Can you hear me?"_

The falcon warrior answered, _"Affirmative. I'm with several LEV soldiers now."_

_"There are some more here. You can gather them together."_

_"There's a problem though. These guys insist on attacking the BAHRAM stronghold."_

_"That's nuts. They wouldn't last too long."_

Vic sighed mentally, _"I've told them that already. But they are adamant about it."_

'Let them do as they wish.'

As much as I am hurt by what happened here, that's still cruel, Dingo. But he did have a point. I couldn't exactly stop them. They had the same agenda that I did.

_"I...guess there's no way to stop them. Survivors..."_

_"What was that last part?"_

_"Never mind."___ I muttered. _"It's nothing. Forget it."_

I could sense his disapproval, but he let it go. _"Okay. I'll head there as soon as I can."_ Saying that, our mental link was terminated. Well that's one worry out of the way. I decided to contact T. We were talking before I was cut of by the battle.

_"T.__ How did your search go?"_

A relieved sound was heard, _"Oh, good. You're alive. Well. I've found the unit, but it looks like they're trapped here by the Ars Cliff. Many of them are injured and worn out."_

_Looks like Vic is going to have some more work to do._ _"Okay. I'm sending..."_

I was cut off again by sounds in the air. Turning I saw a group of Raptor coming in. I prepared for battle, but they didn't come toward me. Rather, they descended to a lower part of the ground. It was then that I noticed tracks. And even worse. _A carrier._ At that size, it must have at least forty or fifty Frame soldiers in it. The transport took off and flew into an underground tunnel. And from looking at the nearby signs, it was heading straight for Ars Cliff.

I re-contacted T, _"There's a problem. A carrier is coming toward you. They are loaded with Frame soldiers."_

He swore, _"Damn. We're sitting ducks here."_

_Looks like I'm going to be the busy one. "I'll handle it."_

I entered the mouth of the tunnel and shot in, full stream. Since it was almost a straight line, I was able to move fast. It also helped that the carrier was large, meaning that I would be moving faster than it. But I had to hurry before it reached the cliff. It wasn't long before I had reached it. It would be tricky bringing this thing down, but my options are limited. The best way would be to destroy the front. But because of the size of this thing, it would take me awhile to reach it. And if that wasn't enough, a few of the soldiers inside came out to say hello. _Naritas__.__ Not again._ Dodging them and keeping up with the transport would be tough. But Dingo seemed to have no intention of merely dodging them.

'Out of my way!'

I burst ever further and began attacking. The first Narita was cut down by my blade and the other two seemed to be holding back. _But why?_ The answer came soon enough as the carriers cannons came up and started firing. I weaved my way through the rounds of fire, but it was difficult because the Naritas picked now to attack me. They both swooped in their bird form and nearly tackled me. But as I moved away, the carrier launched mines and set them my way. _Why can't it be easy?_ Locking on to both the cannons and the mine, I let out a spread beam wave, destroying the mines and a few cannons. But they were still firing. And worse yet, the Naritas were coming up behind me. I decided to deal with the Naritas now. The next one flew at me, but I wasn't in the mood to wait. Rather, I extended my blade and slapped in the head. It fell to the tracks, smashed into it, and was left behind. _Alright, my job just became easier._ I repeated this with the second on, only upward, but with the same results. Turning around, I dodged the cannon fire once again and as I did, I focused on all of the cannons. Letting out another spread beam wave, the beam hit all of the cannons, causing them to explode simultaneously.

'Let's go.'

I moved up to the next car on the carrier. It was the second car to the head. But as I got closer, I saw a problem. Up ahead was a really big beam cannon. It began to power up and it fired, but I avoided it. It was a fixed cannon so I didn't have to worry about it too much. What I did worry about was the five objects coming out of the carrier and toward me. Two Naritas and three Cyclopes.

_And the hits just keep on coming…_

The Cyclopes wasted no time in firing their shockwave, sending the pulses straight into the tunnel's walls. The waves were all over the place and I was forced to lower down. Unfortunately, that's where the cannon was.

**FRRRROOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!**

_Crap!_ I moved up instantly, but it wasn't enough and the beam hit my leg. I was scorched, but still there. But I didn't have time to reflect on it as the Cyclopes shockwaves were coming again. At the same time, the Naritas were beginning to move. And the cannon was powering up again. Okay, the cannon first.

I moved to the side where the cannon was less likely to hit me. Then in a rapid pace, I summoned the Metatron sphere. I had to hurry. The cannon was almost fully charged. Finally, the sphere was ready. At the same time, the cannon was charged. With one swift shot, I fired the sphere just as the cannon fired. A loud explosion followed as the sphere hit the cannon just as it fired, resulting in the explosion.

_One down.___

I didn't have too much time to revel in my small victory, because both Narita and Cyclops shockwaves were coming at me. I had to move fast (_again_). It wouldn't be long before the carrier reached the cliffs. Gauntlet could finish them off quickly. I was still a little drained from the battle in Vascillia, but I had enough for a few shots.

"Gauntlet. Smash them!"

I released to gauntlet blasts, knocking two of the Cyclopes into the wall and sending them down. Twisting, I fired another blast at the Narita, with the same results. Only two left now. I shot my hand toward them and...nothing. I was out of energy.

'Great. This is all I need right now.'

_Tell me about it._ The Narita changed into its bird form and swooped at me. I dodged it, but as I did, I was hit by a shockwave punch from the Cyclops. I almost hit the wall myself, but I managed to regain my bearings. Shaking it off, I saw them use the same tactic again. Not this time. I dodged the Narita like before, but I didn't move far enough. As the shockwave closed, I grabbed the Narita and held it in front of me. The shockwave smashed into the bird-minion and damaged it. Still holding on, I spun around repeatedly and I finally let it go. The Narita smashed right into the Cyclops and they both hit the wall. Now that all opposition was gone, I flew up behind the front of the machine and called forth my Metatron sphere. I held the energy long enough for it to reach full power and let it fly. The burst swooped to the target and hit it dead on. The front exploded and the carrier with it. As the massive transport continued to explode, I was able to fly ahead of it. But as I flew, an object popped out of it and flew right at me. Reacting, I grabbed it and it glowed around me. _This is...another technique._

**_-Decoy.-_**

I swooped to the front and turned around. Slowing down, letting the carrier run into my hands. Now with the carrier in my hands, I began to push against it. The carrier didn't slow and I began to drift lower to the tracks. _No!_ Any lower and I would be run over by it. I began to push harder and my wings flared. The wrecked machine finally began to slow, but I continued to push, putting all of my strength into it. We began to slow down and eventually, the now-destroyed carrier came to a screeching halt.

"Mission complete."

Now that that was done, I turned and continued down the tunnel. Since I was already far down, I may as well join T and the Eight-Heads group.

_"Jehuty."___

_That voice...? "Ardjet?"_

The feminine voice came up, _"Don't worry. I'm coming to join you. Our runners are well aquatinted."_

_"Runners?__ Oh, you mean Ken."_

_"Yes.__ I will assist you in fighting BAHRAM."_

_What? Why would she do that?_ I relayed this question to her. She seemed...amused by it.

_"Why do you ask?"___

_"Last time we met, you weren't exactly in a mood to chat."_

_"That was then. This is now. Let's just put that aside."_

As much as would have wanted to, I've always fought alone. So I wasn't sure I wanted someone to fight alongside me, much les someone from BAHRAM. Even if it was Ardjet.

_"Not just yet.__ Why do you wish to turn on Anubis now?"_

Her amused tone ended, _"You above all people should know that. You fight him, yet he is your own brother. The reasons are clear enough, is it not?"_

I couldn't argue with that, but still...

_"How can I be sure my reason is the same as yours."_

_"You don't."_ She replied in a firm tone. _"And if don't trust me, that's fine too. But I am going to fight him, with or without you. I'd much prefer it if it was with you."_

I remained silent for awhile before finally answering, _"Very well. Do as you wish."_

The link was cut once again and I decided to contact T again.

_"T.__ How are you holding up?"_

T's voice came up, _"Better, thanks to you. The commander would like to thank you as well."_

Another voice came up, female. It had a commanding tone to it, but it wasn't arrogant like the other LEV commander. _"Frame Warrior Jehuty.__ I thank you for your assistance. I don't think we could have survived an attack like that. Many of us are injured."_

_"You're welcome."_

T's voice came up again, _"Wow, you're fast. I never thought you Frame Warriors were so swift. You're almost here already."_

_Huh. What is he talking about? "No. I'm still in the tunnel."_

_"Then who...ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!"___

_"T!__ What the heck?"_ The connection was severed again. I had to move again. When I reached to tunnel's end, sunlight beamed through the glassy area. On the ground was a piece of Metatron. I moved down and absorbed the energy, allowing it to revitalize my power and heal me. Looking outside, I saw that I was at the base of a cliff. _Ars__ Cliff.__ Then where's...?_

Further down, I saw traces of smoke emitting from the area. Moving down, I found the source. I wish I hadn't.

"Oh, god."

Charred remains of LEV soldiers were scattered all over the place. The bodies were burned beyond recognition, so I couldn't tell if T was a casualty. But by the looks of it, he very well could be. There wasn't a single survivor at all. Whoever did this did it swiftly and efficiently. _But someone...had to have survived._ Higher up, there was an opening in the cliff. Maybe someone escaped there. Or maybe whoever did this was there. Either way, I went in. The entrances lead to a bright cavern. Machinery lined the sides of the wall and gates on top and bottom. I drifted in and looked around, looking for whatever was in here, readying myself for anything.

Except for a familiar, crackling laughter...

"You are late, Jehuty."

_Nephtis__?__ You've got to be kidding me, not again!_

"You're still alive? Damn it."

Parts of the wall began moving, revealing themselves to be new Frame soldiers. _What the heck? I've never seen those before._ They were heavily shielded and holding energy whips. A few of them encircled behind their fiery orange mistress.

"The Vector technique is mine and your head is next! Are you ready?!"

_Why always me?_


	11. Round 3

Disclaimer: Same as always. But you knew that.

AN: Did you miss me?

Chap. 10

I backed away from the Clod's charge. But the armored soldier only floated in place, showing no indication that it was going to attack.

Nephtis however, was another story...

"Time to die, Jehuty!"

Nephtis charged in a dizzying array of bladed strikes, causing me to back off against the wall. She then charged again, more fiercely. I reacted just in time to push myself off the wall and away from her. As she slashed the wall, I rebounded and slashed back. But my blade instead encountered her energy field.

'Damn, not this again.'

This was bad. But on the bright side, she would now be more vulnerable to Gauntlet here. I began to summon the burst when she suddenly flew away and disappear around the corridor. That's strange. She never ran away from a fight before. Either way, I had to stop her. And blasted down the corridor to find her, but I was suddenly going...backward? Turning around, I saw one of the Clod's reel me in with some kind of tractor energy. _'I can't...'_ Before I knew it, the Clod's whip-like hands held onto me. As it held me, I struggled to escape, but before I could, Nephtis came back around the corner. With an evil grin, she summoned her power and flew straight at me with lightning speed. I was helpless as she hit me dead on. Both I and the Clod exploded and I was hurled down through one of the lower gates. As I struggled to rise, I winced. Sufficient to say, I was in really bad shape. Much of my armor was either shredded or burned. At least I was in better condition than that Clod, who was completely destroyed. I guess it shouldn't be any surprise that she wouldn't care about her minions, so long as I was toast. But enough about that. I was no shape to fight a demon like her like this.

But it seemed like fortune smiled upon me, as unlikely as that seemed. A short distance away, I saw a trace of Metatron. It wasn't much, but enough to heal. And I'm in no mood to complain. I hovered in the air and began the move toward it. But my movements were a bit sluggish. _'Come on. I've got to reach it before...'_

Before I could finish that thought, the gate smashed right above me and the fiery demoness hovered before me.

"Playtime isn't over yet."

_'Damn! I was so close.'_ She stood right between me and the Metatron. I had to get past her to get it, which is the major problem. With another crackle, she lunged at me again. I raised my shield to block, but she pressed on, attacking even more. Her body then shimmered again and the bladed flower on her back encircled her and spun rapidly like a saw. I quickly jetted back, despite the pain it caused me. I had to get by her and there's only one way I think I could do it.

'Aw, well. Sink or swim.'

That seemed apt right now. Nepthis's flower retracted and she came at me again. Closer... Her arm arched back and the blades encircled them. Closer... She went into a burst of extra speed and I could see the evil grin of finality on her face.

"Now! Gauntlet!"

The spark of energy formed and I hurled it. The look of surprise on her face was priceless as she was suddenly slammed by the bolt and into the wall. _'Go, go, go!'_ As she lay there recovering, I quickly dashed toward the Metatron. She must have one heck of a recovery system because just as suddenly, she was on my tail. I didn't have time to turn around to look at her. She was obviously pissed off by what I did. But I couldn't worry about that now. I had to reach it. Come on, come on! I heard her blade rise and...miss me by a mere inch. But even better, I reached the Metatron and instantly regenerated. My injuries faded into nothing and I was re-energized. I turned to look at Nephtis, who was getting up after her attack.

"Let's try this again."

Summoning Gauntlet, I hurled the bolt at her. Quickly, she dodged the bolt and I fired another, to which she dodged too. Swiftly, she flew up back to the mid-level. I followed, but she flew down the corridor again. _'This again.'_I saw another Clod coming at me and try to pull me in. But rather than fight, I went toward it, appearing to be sucked in. At the same time, Nephtis came back around the corner and began to flare again. Without hesitating, she charged again.

"Not this time."

Suddenly, I shot off to the right, escaping the beam totally and circled around the Clod. Still moving, I grabbed its back and held it in front of me and toward Nephtis. Nephtis was still in flight by the time she reached us and she smashed straight into us. The Clod was totaled, but it had done its job. The extra armor had shielded me from her attack and caused her to spin away dazed. Even better, her shield was down once again. My blade extended and I charged with the same fury as her.

"DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My blade impaled right through her and she gasped. I held her briefly before I pulled back slightly and slashed upward, right across her body. A Metatron spray spat out of her body and she flew straight into the wall. Her black mask shattered, revealing her face and she plummeted straight into the floor-gate and lied still. I looked close to examine her. She wasn't healing as before. _Which meant… that she was truly dead._ But I couldn't help, but feel a bit of sorrow and regret. Sorrow, because she was the persona of Dingo's former comrade. And regret because I had killed her. I just realized that I've never really killed before. In my past battles, I had fought and brought my opponent only to defeat. Their runners, I always left alive. They are the persona of the warrior, so therefore they still live on. But Nephtis didn't have that. Her previous incarnation had it, but that was gone a long time ago...

**_Flashback..._**

_"No!"_

_KABBOOOMMMMM!!!!!!_

_"Neith!__ Hmm."_

_"Don't even think about it. I will kill you if you even try."_

_"But..."_

_"I am defeated. Useless. So now...I will die."_

_"That's...not true."_

_"Silence!__ Save your pity for one who deserves it. I have destroyed many. The trail of blood I have created is long. But you...you are the only one who has ever defeated me! A power that surpasses my skills. But...in a way, this is what I was looking for. Release. And now I have it."_

_"........"_

_"Jehuty.__ Answer me this. Was...I strong?"_

_"I...still can't believe I'm alive at all."_

_"Heh.__ Thank you. Time...to...sleep...now...Time...to...rest...Finally rest."_

_"Farewell, Frame Warrior Neith."_

**_Flashback end..._**

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

I blinked and turned to the sound of the voice. It was T. I didn't believe it.

"You're alive!"

T however raised his rifle and aimed it at me. _'What was he doing?'_

"What did you mean, 'you're sorry'? Was she a comrade of yours? Did you silence her to stay close to us? Answer me!"

_'What the heck was he talking about?'_ I examined him. He was seriously injured and battered. '_He must be delirious.'_

"Calm down. I can explain."

T cocked the trigger. "Explain what? How you manipulated me? How your b**ch killed off my friends, my comrades? How you would then turn on your own kind? Go ahead. Explain."

"Jehuty, there you are."

We both turned to the new voice. It emanated from the snow-white form of Ardjet. She hovered past T and toward me. T struggled with the rifle, but Ardjet paid him no heed.

"It seems you had a little trouble." She then looked down and the body of Nephtis. "Correction. Big trouble. I knew Nephtis. She was...high tempered to put it mildly."

That wasn't even close to mild. Try using words like violent, vicious, blood-seeking, and recklessly destructive. Behind her, T's eyes were darting at both of us.

"So I was right. This was all a set up!"

Both I and Ardjet turned to him. Ardjet calmly put her hands up.

"Please lower the weapon. You're hurt and not thinking straight. You need help."

T growled and winced, "I don't need your kind of help."

"Please, just calm down. We're not going to...ahhhhhHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

My head shot to her and I saw that she was being struck with volts of energy. _'But where...'_ Looking down, I saw the source. The bloodied hand of Nephtis was raised up and releasing the energy onto Ardjet. Ardjet screamed even more as T watched and then made his escape. The energy stopped and Nephtis's arm fell lifeless.

"Ardjet. Ardjet, are you alright?"

She looked up briefly, "No...Something is....guuuaaahhhhhh!!!!" Her hands lurched up to her head as she moaned loudly. Then just as suddenly, her hands shot off to the side, summoning her Wisp technique. _'What is she doing?'_ Her hands shot forward and the fireball projectiles came straight at me. I quickly raised my shield to block.

"Ardjet, what are you doing?"

She looked at me and then gave a sinister laugh. _A very familiar laugh.__ 'What the...no way.'_

"I'm not done with you yet, Jehuty."

_'That...that's Nephtis's voice. But how did she...?'_ Somehow, she possessed Ardjet's body and took control. As I thought this, she began to dance around with her new body.

"This will be more than..." Her voice then cut off and she spoke again. "Jehuty. Help m..." Again she was cut off and Nephtis voice returned, "Time to die."

That last voice. It was Ardjet's. Which means she was still alive in there. Perhaps I can break through and revive her. But how could I do that when it was obvious that Nephtis was in control? I had to try. I just had to be careful.

" Nephtis. Neith. Either way, this must end now!"


	12. Final Rest

Disclaimer: You know what it is.

_Chero666: Thank you for the review. I was beginning to think that no one was reading this anymore. And if you like Ardjet, then you'll love this chapter._

Chap. 11

"Wisp!"

The horde of projectiles encircled Ardjet-Nephtis again and she let them loose on me full force. I raised my shield to defend and the swarms of bolts hit me with tremendous force. I was actually pushed back by them as they hammered in on me. Frustrated, I extended my blade and swooped in to attack, but stopped mid-way. _'What am I doing?'_

Unfortunately for me, that hesitation cost me as she slashed me. Luckily, she didn't hit deep enough, but it was enough to leave a solid gash on my arm. I shot back in pain as Ardjet flew at me to attack again, but she stopped midway. She grasped her head in pain.

"Jehuty...get...away....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

Streaks of energy zapped around her and she writhed in pain. Her color turned pale (_paler than normal_) and Nephtis was back in control.

"Die, Jehuty!"

Another slash came out, but this time I was ready. I raised my blade to counter, resulting in a harsh clash. She struck out again, harder this time and I was able to counter again. But the force of my counter was too great for her and she backed away, stunned.

"Jehuty."

Ardjet again. _'How can I fight like this?'_

"You must...kill me...Kill us both."

_I...I can't. I couldn't kill her in cold-blood._

"Don't say that. I...won't."

Ardjet pleaded, "You must...hurry. She's....regaining....Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

Ardjet's body sparkled with energy again and she arose again, grin on her face.

"You are weak, Jehuty. You should have killed me when you had the chance."

Ardjet waved her arms and sent a few bolts of energy at me. I easily dodged them, but they were only a feint. When I looked up, Ardjet was already in her cocoon body and absorbing the tremendous energies.

-"Aw, S**t."-

The intense energy beam fired and almost blew my head off. A millisecond to the left and that would have been it for me. I can't keep fighting like this. 'I've _got to stop her now. But how do I defeat Nephtis without harming Ardjet?'_

Another swarm of Wisps stopped my thoughts as the projectiles came in heavily on me. I barely managed a shield, but the other bolts hit the wall beside me, causing parts of it to come down on me. Despite the shield, the debris hit me just as hard as the Wisps and forced me lower to the ground. I looked up, just in time to see her coming at me, afterimages tracing her advance. Her blades swung out and I blocked them again. It was then that I remembered.

"Ardjet! I'll give you a hand, but you have to fight her."

Ardjet-Nephtis chuckled, "She can't hear you." She struck again. "She is gone." Another strike. "And you will be soon." She raised her blade for another strike, "Meet with her in the afterlife, Jehuty!"

As her blade fell, I swung upward, hard. The force of the colliding blades shocked her back again, stunning her. I quickly moved up to her.

"Ardjet?"

Ardjet's weak voice came up, "Finish it...now."

I, however, grabbed hold of her shoulders. "I told you before that I would lend a hand. And now I will." I summoned a full force of Metatron into my body. Ardjet began to struggle slightly.

"She's coming."

"Fight her."

The Metatron flowed directly into her, causing her thrash violently in my grasp. But I refused to let her go. Her personalities kept changing on me from Ardjet to Nephtis and back again as a massive glow emitted from her.

"Jehuty...target Bravo...will kill...destroy...huty."

"Sleep forever. Rest in peace, Neith."

The glow exploded into a full blown flash and then nothing. I finally released Ardjet and floated back.

"Ardjet?"

A weak answer came out, "She's gone. But...I can't..."

I noticed that she was still falling slowly. Her body must have been strained past their limits when Nephtis took over. I could she her arms waving, trying to stay afloat.

"Don't worry. I'll..."

A suddenly rumble sounded and an explosion erupted underneath. A giant hole was blasted right under Ardjet and she fell down into it.

-"This just doesn't end, does it?"-

Grumbling myself, I swooped down into the hole after her. But I could no longer see were she was. I was in a deep corridor with platforms all around. A molten pit lay at the bottom. _'Oh no.__ Please don't tell me she...'_

"Jehuty!"

I blinked. She's still alive. I looked around the area.

"Where are you?"

She gave no reply as I continued to look. Suddenly, I felt something grab hold of me and pull me off toward the right. As I flew, I looked down at what grabbed me. _Wisp?_ Before I knew it, I had crash-landed on one of the platforms with Ardjet. _Correction, over Ardjet._ She had pulled me right over her body. I'm glad I wore a helmet. I knew for a fact that my face was blushing red, if that was at all possible.

"Y-you could have called me."

Badly enough, my nervousness broke through my voice and she grinned.

"Relax, big boy. I just wanted to give you something."

Her hand rose up to me and a flow of Metatron engulfed me. _'Another sub-weapon...her weapon.'_

**_-Wisp-_**

I lifted myself off of her as I looked at my hands.

"Impressive, isn't it? You can use it to grab foes from a distance. I have a feeling you might need it."

I looked back at her and then up, "It's a good ways up." Looking back down, "Can you move?"

She raised her arms a bit, but beyond that, she made no other movement. "No. I'm still paralyzed mostly. Guess you're on your own."

I looked back at her and grinned, "Not just yet."

She looked surprised as I moved over her again and lifted her up and placed her on my back. Her arms clung around my shoulders.

"Alright. Hang on."

My wings open and I flew up to the opening. But due to her weight, I wasn't going as fast as I normally could. Not that I was saying that she was heavy. She was actually quite light, but it still interfered with my flying. But it wasn't a problem.

That came later...

"Jehuty. Above you."

I cocked my head in the direction she indicated. A group of Clods and Raptors were coming right at us. The Raptors were almost upon us. I growled to myself.

_Can't get anything easy these days..._


	13. Rescue

Disclaimer: You know what it is already

_Chero666- I feel your pain. Don't worry, that's not going to happen here._

_Silvace__ Atronach- You think that's WAFF? Just wait until you read this. Hehehe._

_Too lazy to write name- Arigato! (Thank you!)_

-------------

Chap. 12

Jehuty and Ardjet were on their way to escape. All they had to do was to fly up to the top of the pit and outside.

The only problem was that the path was blocked by a troop of Raptors.

"It's never easy, is it?" I muttered

"What are we going to do, Jehuty?"

I began thinking rapidly. _What to do? What to do?_ I looked over to one of the many ledges on the side and moved to it.

"You stay here." I started as I set her down. "I'll deal with them."

"Wait a minute." Her arms were still hooked onto my neck and she quickly pulled me to her face and…_kissed me?_

"Just in case I don't get the chance later." she whispered.

I blinked hard and forced myself to turn back to the battle. Then I shot upward toward the oncoming horde. _'Okay. Just Raptors. I'll clear them out, no problem._' I rushed at the first one as it prepared to slash outward. I easily evaded the blow, unfolded my own blade and lurched my arm upward, slashing it straight through in half. As it exploded, I turned to the next one and gave it the same fate as the first. As the second exploded, I saw the remaining three coming at me. I decided to try something new.

"Wisp! Bring him to me!"

A blue tri-blade came forth, encircled in a blue halo. The halo then swarmed at one of the Raptor and hooked into it. I snapped my arm back and the Raptor was helplessly reeled in. I snapped its head in my grip and looked up at the next one.

"You two were made for each other."

Deftly, I tossed the prone Raptor at its compatriot and the two exploded and debris scattered all over the place. The final Raptor seemed hesitant to attack.

"What are you waiting for, a written invitation? Get over here!"

I fired another Wisp that latched onto the Raptor. But a cry from behind echoed as I pulled it toward me. Turning I saw another swarm of Raptors and Clods attacking Ardjet. She was helpless as they picked at her and slashed at her repeatedly.

"Back off!"

Reacting, I flung the Raptor at them. It hit one and exploded, but the explosion tore the ledge and it collapsed and Ardjet along with it.

-"Damn it."-

She was falling slowly, but I still had to reach her. Unfortunately, the path was blocked by more Raptors along with Clods. I had to move fast or Ardjet would be toast.

"Hold on!"

I flew down, attempting to rush through them and get to her, but I was unable to do so as they all attacked at once. _'Great, another formation troop.'_ I dodged the first strike by jetting off to the side, but the other attacked there as well. The Clod grabbed hold of me and soared straight into the wall, smashing me right into it.

"Arrrggghhhh!!"

'This has to stop now!' In a rage, I pushed off the wall and slashed off the arm of the Clod. The lifeless creature jittered back and I finished him off with another slash.

"Jehuty, hurry!"

_'Ardjet.'_ Looking down, I saw that she had gotten closer to the lava pit. I was about to jet, but the Raptors blocked my path again.

"Enough of this. Geyser!"

I let out a spray of energy spheres, catching them all and freezing them in beams of light. Then while they were immobilized, I swooped off to the side and fired my spread wave. The beam flew to their targets and they all exploded. Looking down, I saw Arjet nearing the lava.

"I'm coming."

In a rush of power, I dove down toward her as she reached out to me. But as I flew, I could see that she was getting even closer. _'I'm not going to make it! Damn if only I could reach...wait a minute.'_

"Wisp!"

The halo shimmered again and swooped down to Ardjet. She was about to be scorched when the Wisps hooked on to her and swiftly reeled her back up. I held her in my arms and examined her. She was a bit darker, but not severely hurt.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I guess I needed a tan anyway."

I gave a short laugh and soared upward. I could feel reinforcements coming in, but they won't reach us. We reach the top of the corridor and I placed Ardjet down. Turning back to the hole, I summoned my Metatron powers and hurled it upward. It opened a hole outside and the debris crashed down and sealed the hole. We were safe now.

"Alright. Let's go."

But Ardjet shook her head, "No. You must go on without me."

"What?"

"I'm still paralyzed from the conflict with Nephtis. I'm no good like this and will only slow you down. And you can't afford to. Anubis will be ready soon and Aumann is almost set. You have to stop it soon."

"But I can't leave you here."

"Yes you can. And you will." She looked away, "Jehuty, I must a favor of you."

 "What is it?"

She turned back, "Take Ken with you. She will help you reach Fortress City. You must go there in order to learn from Inhert, a master of Metatron techniques. Anubis learned from him as well. You'll need his help if you are to beat Anubis."

"Okay." With that, she gave a slight gesture and the section holding the fiery-haired runner opened. Ken hovered out into the air and toward me. I opened my own section and Ken flew in and sat on Dingo. It then closed and I stood back up. 

"Are you sure there nothing more I can do for you?"

Ardjet simply waved, "No. Just watch over her. She's a proud woman, but trustworthy. I will live on as long as she does, so please take care of her."

"I will." I probably would have kissed her there, but there was no time for it and we both knew it. I turned around and looked up at the night sky.

"Perhaps we'll meet again, Ardjet."

"I look forward to that day Jehuty." she whispered back. "Now go."

I nodded solemnly and took off, leaving the white warrioress behind. _'I really do hope we meet again.'_

-----

_Outside __Fortress__City__...___

I finally arrived at the destination. The city was a few kilometers away, but I had to stop now. According to the information I heard from Ken, the area is literally booby-trapped, so I had to tread cautiously. I would have to listen to Ken's instruction on how to navigate through, but that may be more difficult than it seems. I can only hear her through Dingo, and that was a challenge. It's bad enough that I still don't understand how I can feel his thoughts directly, but listening in to someone else while I'm like this is another story. I'll just have to take this slowly. If I'm to defeat Anubis and stop Aumann, then I must go.

_'Let's do this.'_


	14. Fortress

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Chap. 13

I stood out in front of a vast wasteland. A good distance away, I could make out a city. It glowed in a blue crystalline light. It was here that I would find the Metatron master, Inhert. But reaching him would be difficult. According to Ken, the entire area was booby-trapped and guarded heavily. The sky above the wasteland alone was rigged to destroy any that ventured close to the city. I would have to skim across the ground. But even that was completely safe as mines were hidden in the area thanks to Vector Traps. Ken knew the direction, but I wouldn't be able to hear it clearly. I would have to rely on Dingo.

_-'Forward.'-_

Simply enough. I glided across the ground quickly, but steadily. He had to be ready at a moment's...

_-'Stop.'-_

I stopped, almost abruptly.  I was a few meters from where I started and now in the midst of the wasteland. _'What a dreary..._

_-'Left.'-_

I shook my head and ventured left. I have to keep my attention on the task. I continued to move to the left and as I did, I saw a group of objects floating in the sky before me. _'What are those?'_

_-'Defend.'-_

_Defend?_ I soon realized the significance to those words as the objects now flew at me. Missiles! I quickly raised my shield just as they hit me. They exploded harmlessly against the energy barrier and eventually died off. With the missiles gone, I continued on my path.

_-'Wait.'-_

But the warning came too late and I hit the trap. A giant explosion hit me right in my face and blasted me back. I shook it off and examined myself. My armor was singed, but not damaged. However, a second blast won't be as forgiving. _What happened? I was on track, so what happened._

_-'Diverted.'-_

_Divert...oh I see._ The missiles must have put me off a bit. Just enough to cause me to walk into a trap. It then became clear how precise I would have to follow instructions.

_-'Right a bit.'-_

_A bit.__ Okay._ I shifted off to the right slightly and began to move slowly. I was in no rush to repeat what had just happened.

_-'Stop. Angle to right.'-_

_Angle to right?_ That would put me away from the city. Still, it was the safest course. I angled myself off to the right and traveled forward. The direction she gave lead right into a giant crater. I was waiting for instruction to tell me to turn from it, but none came and I soon found myself in the crater.

_-'Careful.'-_

_Huh?_ I soon found out the meaning of the word. Suddenly, an energy field encircled the crater, trapping me inside. Even worse, several images appeared with me. _Mummyheads__.__ Two of them._ I watched them approach and found myself wondering. _Why only two? This is far too easy._ But I wasn't going to complain. Still, it did make me worry...

My thoughts were interrupted when one of the Mummyheads unleashed a Halbread stream at me. I quickly swooped downward and away. The second Mummyhead tossed out a stream of Phalanx, but I easily blocked it with my shield. So how should I handle this? Hmm, I know.

"Wisp!"

I let out the tri-pointed wire weapon and hooked on to the Mummyhead.

"Get over here!" (_I couldn't resist.)_

I reeled the shielded soldier toward me and grasped it by the head. I then began to spin around and I tossed it into his partner. The soldiers collided and the first one exploded in pieces. I was half-surprised to see the second one still active. I guess he'll need another approach.

"Comet! Strike him down!"

I released a Comet blast and it flew speedily at the Muumyhead. It struck dead on and the second Mummyhead exploded. The field dropped and I suddenly started glowing. What is...?

**-Halbread-**

_Another technique.__ Alright._ I guess my luck must be changing. But I would have to put that on hold for now, at least until I reach the city. Besides, past experience told me that this would get harder.

_'Left, then forward.'___

_Oh, I almost forgot. _I lowered to the ground outside of the crater and skimmed the ground again, being careful not to go too fast and hit another trap. The direction she gave was moving me toward the city, but in a diagonal line. I continued to move until I reached a small trench. But it was what was in the air that caught my attention.

_-'Damn.__ Mines.'-_

The air over the trench was practically littered with mines. They glowed in dark red, ready to explode on anyone that came close. To make it worse, they were magnetically charged, meaning that anything coming close to them would pull it in with them. I hoped that Ken would tell Dingo that I had to go in another direction, but no such luck. I had to tread carefully. Slowly, I eased my way through, making sure not to come in any contact with the mines. If I could, I'd be fairly certain that I would be sweating right about now. Okay, halfway through. I continued to skim through it easily.

**_Beep, beep._**

_Uh, oh._ One of the mines had been activated and was now coming toward me. Even worse, when I turned my head to look, the reaction change caused a couple more to lock onto me. They were coming at me fast, pushing some out of the way while shoving others and activating them as well. I had to get away before they exploded. My shield wouldn't stop them at such close range. But that means I would have to fly a good distance before they detonated. But if I did that, I would risk running into another trap. But at this point, it was better to get caught in a trap then to be blown up by several mines. My wings ignited and I swooped away. The mines began to follow as I crossed over the canyon. But they were still following me. They haven't detonated yet. I moved again, still in a straight line. I was getting increasingly worried that I would hit a Vector Trap.

_-'Go to the right, now!'-_

_Huh?_ In a flash, I swerved off to the right of the wasteland, completely avoiding the invisible trap. The mines turned along with me, but their time ran out and they each self-detonated. I stopped in my flight and turned.

_-'That was too close, even for me.'-_

_Huh?_ It was strange. Dingo's thoughts were clearer now, almost as if they were my own. _Should I be worried? Nah._ That clarity just saved our lives.

_-"We're here."-_

Turning back, I saw the beautiful city before me. I saw no activity within though other than moving lights. But I had a feeling there was more to this place than meets the eye.

_"You've come at last, Frame Warrior Jehuty."_

Who was that? It wasn't Dingo's voice.

_"You've come searching for me, as I knew you would one day."_

_"Master Inhert?"___

An elder's voice chuckled, _"Master? Heh, that's a title I have not been called for quite some time."_

_"Where are you?"_

_"Within the city.__ But, if you want to come and meet me, then prove yourself worthy!"_

The connection was now severed_. 'Prove myself worthy? Now why doesn't that sound like an easy thing?'_ I flew up into the sparkling city and searched. There was nothing around. Nothing at all. _What kind of person builds a city with nothing?_

**_Crrrrrrrrreeeekkkkkkkk_****__**

That's when I received my answer. On the ground there were three moving objects, coming right at me. I took a closer look. They were frame minions, but I never seen this type before. _Just my luck._ They seemed to be digging underground, keeping a part of themselves surfaced. I better get this test over with then. I moved forward to attack when they suddenly leaped out at me. They had bent legs and arms. I would provide a more apt description, but right now three of these guys were coming right at me. I dodged to the side, ready to fight when they suddenly fell back to the ground. _'Huh? Oh, I see. They can't fly. Well, that makes things easier.'_

_Someday, I will learn to keep my big mouth shut..._

Suddenly from behind, several projectiles hit me in the back. Turning upward, I saw a troop of Mummyheads and Raptors coming right at me. _'Great. Now I have a problem going up or down.'_ Speaking of down, when I turned back to look at the ground minions, Leopardo, one of them was already airborne and coming at me. Quickly, I dodged, but it wasn't enough and the creature slashed my shoulder and caused me to drop. I hit the ground semi-hard and examined myself. My shoulder armor was slashed, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. However, the Leopardo were coming right at me. I quickly stood upright as they all leapt at me at once.

Stupid move.

I quickly summoned the Metatron within and when they got close enough, I spun around, letting my blade out and slashing all three at once. They fell to pieces on the ground and I focused my attention to the oncoming force.

"Gauntlet!"

I release the spark of energy at the Mummyhead, causing it to soar away from the group. As it did, I attacked the two Raptors. One came to slash at me, but I quickly cut it in two. The second swooped in as well, but it only received the same fate as its partner. The Mummyhead continued to close.

"Geyser!"

I let out the little balls of light and tossed them at the Mummyhead. The minion froze and I flew in to attack when suddenly...

"What?"

From out of the side of one of the buildings, a couple more Mummyheads appeared, along with some Raptors, Cyclopses, and Leopardos. _Where did they come from?_ Moving fast, I grabbed the stunned Mummyhead and tossed it at the coming horde. It destroyed a Cyclops, but it didn't stop them from coming. I flew off to the side and focused.

_'Must...hold it...now!'___

At that, I let out beams of Metatron, each one flying toward an enemy. Luckily, the Leopards were weak, so one or two of them were destroyed quickly while the other beams damaged the others. I unfolded my blade and set myself for the kill when...

"What the...?"

Three more Mummyheads emerged, this time from the other side. And they were accompanied by a couple of Leopardos. At the same time, the stunned horde had revived and continued their attack. Seeing the odds, I flew back away from their fire and flew behind one of the buildings. Their fire was trashing the area as they came. I looked over the side, only to see another group join then. I twisted back against the wall. _'Where are these guys coming from?'_ Flying around another building for cover, I found my answer. A good distance away from me was a Cellar sphere. It was currently pulsating and new minions emerged out.

_-"That thing's gotta go."-_

Without hesitating, I flew toward it in attack. But I underestimated the amount of guards there would be and I found myself facing more than I thought. They seemed to be swarming all over the place, shielding me from the prized possession. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Cellar was within a group of pillars, making hitting it from afar difficult. I would have to get in close. Even worse, the group that was behind me had just come around the building and moving toward me. _'Just great.'_ I would have to use every skill I have to defeat them.

"Wisp!"

The thin-blue strand of energy grabbed one of the Mummyheads and reeled it in. Then on reaction, I quickly tossed it behind me, destroying a Raptor and disorganizing the group. I then flew backward and focused on the guards now.

"Comet!'

Instead of one, I hurled three of the energy balls at them, each one destroying an enemy. A raptor flew at me, but was quickly disposed of with a vertical slash across. I let that guide my attack and I dived in and began to slice the enemies furiously. But despite these efforts, the Cellar continued to pulsate and create new opponents for me to fight. It would be extremely difficult to get in close now. And the enemy began to close in and surround me. I quickly shot straight up into the air and above them. But they were beginning to close in on me once again. _Damn, if only I could blast it from here. But the pillars are in the way... wait a minute._

I shot of to the side to get away from the advancing enemy. When I reached a good distance, I summoned the Metatron Sphere in my hand. But instead of launching it, I held on to, bringing it to full power. But the enemy was coming closer. If they attack now, I won't be able to do the damage I want. _'Come on, hurry.'_ The sphere finally reached its full size. A Raptor swooped in and slashed at me, but not before I set the massive sphere of energy down at the Cellar. The sphere hit the pillar, but it didn't stop it as the pillar exploded and the Cellar along with it. With the Cellar gone, I was free to attack.

"Now!"

I dove into the enemy formation once again. What happened was a series of events I can't remember. I lost myself in the destructive dance as I slashed, chopped, ripped, tore and dismembered every enemy that came close. Whenever I was done with one, I would dive to another group and repeat the dance. When I came to my senses, all of the enemies were destroyed. I couldn't believe what I had done. There were so many that I destroyed. I knew I was powerful, but this is something that still surprised me.

Shaking it off, I lowered down to the ground. Behind the area were the Cellar once was, there was a large gate. Moving to it, it opened before me and I entered. The door closed and the elevator lowered down. It then opened up to another room. Before me was a piece of Metatron. _'Great, I could use...wait a minute.'_

Before I could think it, a group of Mummyheads, Cyclopes, and Raptors all appeared and attacked me. _'A trap.'_ Quickly I raised my shield as one of the Cyclopes attack. But the blow was hard and I was slammed against the wall. The Mummyhead summoned a Halbread attack and almost pinned me to the wall, but I managed to dodge it. Standing in the corner, I set myself as one of the Raptors flew in to attack.

"Halbread, show them the light!"

The intense beam of light emerged out of me and the Raptor was destroyed. The beam continued on and destroyed both a Cyclops and the second Raptor. I stopped it, seeing the power it was draining from me. But that still left the two Mummyheads and a Cyclops. Kicking off the wall, I stabbed the blade into the Mummyhead, which was fortunate seeing as how his Halbread was still firing. Grabbing the massive shielded minion, I spun around wildly as the Cyclops came at me. But it was caught in the whirlwind and bashed aside. Dazed, it began to recover. But not before I released the Mummyhead and sent it smashing into him at high speed. Both minions exploded and I was left with the last Cyclops.

But not for long...

**_Shhrrrrrrrraaaaaccckkkkkkk_****_!!!!!_**

Now that everyone was destroyed, I lowered down and grabbed the lone Metatron cube. It didn't give me my full power, but it did heal me greatly. I flew toward the other end and found another elevator, which lowered down further into the ground.

_"You're getting warmer."_ Inhert beckoned.

I gave a slight sigh as the elevator stopped. I flew out and looked out and found a strange sight. I was in a large room with the floor which was divided in several parts, but sealed. Two Raptors suddenly formed and came in to attack. I growled inwardly.

_'Here we go again.'_


	15. Inhert

Disclaimer: The usual. I do not own ZOE, blah, blah, blah

Chap. 14

The two Raptors quickly focused their gaze on me and flew up. I returned the gesture and flew at them as well. My wings ignited brightly and I flew at them faster then they thought. I sailed through one, cutting him his through and causing him to explode. I touched the ground and rebounded off, heading toward the second one and finishing him the same way. I hovered in the air. 

_'That was way too easy.'_

Just then, the floor separated and opened up into several platforms. Some retracted into the far wall while other emerged from it and closed up into another platform. Looking down, I was barely able to see the exit. But it was there. All I had to do was get to the bottom without getting crushed between the moving platforms.

_'Yeah sure, no problem.'___

I swiftly (and possibly suicidal) dove down through the platforms, flying through the platforms to reach the bottom. It seemed simple enough, but there are always complications. Suddenly, four figures appeared within the platforms. Two Cyclopes and two Mummyheads. Normally, such a group would be annoyingly tough, but now within these moving crushers, they could very well destroy me. I'll just have to keep tight and stay frosty. I swooped at my first enemy, a Cyclops. As I flew at him, I let out a stream of bolts to keep him occupied. Then when I gotten close enough...

_Swisshhhhhhh__!_

The vertical cut damaged him, but he wasn't destroyed. I moved in for another strike when a sudden glow caught my attention. Looking up, I saw the orange stream of a Halberd moving right to me. I quickly jumped away from my quarry and flew back. But I then saw that the platforms where closing in. Reacting instantly, I dashed upward as the two platforms closed shut right under me. While I was doing that, the other Mummyhead had moved in on the damaged Cyclops and began healing it. Long white tendrils flowed out and attached itself to the Cyclops, bestowing it with energy. This is just great. Now I have to do all of this all over again. I moved out of the way of another pair of closing platforms and dove in to attack again. This time though, I targeted a Mummyhead. The armored creature began to summon Halberd again, but a quick bolt from me halted its attack. I flew in close and quickly grabbed hold of the creature. It began to fight it way out, but I charged myself with Metatron, empowering my strength and causing the Mummyhead's efforts to be wasted. With that done, I gazed at the second Mummyhead, which was approaching me right now. But rather than attack, I hovered upward and the Mummhead followed. When it reached the area I wanted it to, I flung it partner right at him. The collision knocked both of them back toward a pair of closing platforms and they were crushed within. _'Perhaps they have a use after all.'_ With only the two Cyclopes left, I dove in to attack once again only to be confronted with the tremendous shockwave coming right at me. I quickly dodged off to the side and continued the attack. With my blade extended, I impaled the Cyclops through. As it jittered around, I swiftly turned and tossed it at his partner. Those two collided as well, but they didn't have to worry about the closing platforms.

_That's my job..._

They were too stunned for them to see me summon a Metatron Sphere and hurl it at them. The explosion took out both Cyclopses and they shattered into pieces. With the enemies gone, I dove down to the bottom and through the exit. Now that that's over...

When I emerged, I found yet another set of moving platforms. Three objects materialized this time, two Cyclopes and a Clod.

_-"The old man must be loving this, I'll bet."-_ Dingo grumbled.

I shook off the irritation and focused on the battle. Both the Clod and the Cyclopes were slow so that gave me time to think of what to do.

"Wisp!"

Calling the thin energy hook, I flung it at the Cyclops and reeled it in. Now in my grasp, I flung it at the other Cyclops and the two collided heavily. But the two minions were still active. But that didn't worry me as I moved slightly closer.

"Halberd!"

The intense light emitted out of me and shredded both Cyclopes. The lower corridor began to shift and move the platforms once again. Looking down...

_'No way!'___

Within the moving corridor were groups of Clods, Mummyheads, Cyclopses and Raptors. _'Mental note.__ If I survive this, I'm really going to give it to Inhert.'_ I was about to rush down to face my fate when I found that I couldn't move.

_'What?'_

Behind me, the Clod was now pulling me into its grip. _'Damn, I can't believe I forgot about him.'_ I struggled against the pull, but it was too late and I was now solid in its grip. It began to fly upward briefly and then sudden soared down into the corridors, spinning as it did so.

"Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!"

The Clod smashed me right into one of the corridor, damaging me heavily. I struggled to rise and look as I was now surrounded by enemies. Worse yet, that seismic slam of the Clod had hurt me badly. I was in deep trouble. The Mummyhead began igniting their Halberd, forcing me to move, despite the pain of doing so. I had to force myself to keep going. But how am I going to take out all of these guys in the moving chamber of doom, all the while with severe damage?

_'Huh?'_

I almost didn't catch it, but I saw a faint blue glow within the cracks of one of the platforms. _'Could it be...Metatron?'_ If it was, I had to get it. But I would have to fly fast within the corridor and out without getting crushed. I guess I had no choice. It's my only chance. I soared away from the attacking horde, but the Raptors were closing in on me. I lashed out with a quick Metatron spread in order to halt their assaults. Just then, the corridor began to close in again. I had to move now. I skimmed the side of the wall, looking for the glow.

_'Come on, come on.'_

I finally saw it and began to move toward it when I found myself going the opposite direction. _'No, not again.'_ A Clod was pulling me in again, its grip await the chance to finish me. I struggled more, but I still couldn't get out of the pull. Worse yet, the corridor was closing in on me. I have to get that Metatron now! _Wait a minute..._

"Wisp, bring me the Metatron!"

The energy wire flew straight and true at the glowing Metatron cube. It touched it and the healing energy coursed through the wire and into me, healing me. But the walls were now almost upon me. Without thinking, I flew toward the Clod and slashed it before it could grab me. I then followed up with a grab and throw, tossing it into the closing corridor and it was crushed as soon as it entered.

_-'One down.'-_

I then returned my attention to the rest of the horde. Even though I was at full strength again, this would still be difficult. There has to be something I can do to fight through this and get out in one piece. I began to consider my techniques. I couldn't afford to use Halberd as I would have to stay still and in a place like this, that's not an option. Geyser might be useful. Phalanx is too weak. Wisp, Comet, and Gauntlet were probably the only ones that would be effective here, but it would help if I had something else. _Wait, I do, don't I? _I haven't seen what Decoy does yet. Well, now's a good time to find out. I waited for one of the minions to reach me; a Raptor.

"Decoy."

My body suddenly shifted off to the side, leaving an image of me behind. The Raptor attacked it repeatedly, not even noticing my presence. As I looked, the others were moving in a attacking it as well. I don't get it. I was right there. Even with Decoy, one of them should have at least attacked me. I then noticed a slight shimmer and looked down at myself to see...

_Nothing.___

My entire body was gone. I couldn't even see my arm, which I felt for sure was raised. I looked back at the attack and put two and two together. Now I get it. Decoy not only makes a fake of me, but renders me invisible. I felt a grin come up and moved in to attack. While they were still attacking my Decoy, I was complete unseen to then and so were my attacks. The technique eventually dispersed, but by that time, I had eliminated most of the enemies. The only ones left were a Clod and a Raptor. I could have used Decoy again, but it took up a lot of my energy to create. But that didn't matter. I had more than enough to take these two out. Amazingly, the Clod was first. It gotten into range and began its pulling trick. But rather than fight it, I let it pull me in close. When it did...

"Geyser!"

The balls of light froze the Clod instantly.  I retracted my blade and moved in to destroy when the Raptor's flight caught my eye. But I didn't have time for this and reactively shot my hand at him.

"Gauntlet!"

The Gauntlet smashed into the Raptor's face and it spun backward, crashing against the wall and destroying it. Returning my attention to the Clod, it had gotten free from my Geyser attack and began pulling me in again. _'Guess he didn't get it the first time.' _I moved closer to it, but again I didn't fight it. Instead, I charged the Metatron within me and began to glow in an intense blue aura. The Clod prepared to grab hold, but before it could even try, I spun around, releasing the energy in a devastating slash and ripping the Clod to pieces. With all the enemies eliminated, I dove down through the end of the corridor through a long trail. It ended with another exit which opened before me. As I fell out, I found myself in another massive corridor. But it wasn't like the last one. True, there were moving platforms within, but they were so far apart that they never met. Now I don't have to worry about being crushed. The corridor was also a dark brown instead of blue like the others. Most important, the corridor was massive. The other end was a far distance away, my vision only barely seeing it. But that didn't matter. What did matter was the figure that stood in the midst

"Inhert."

The Metatron master was cloaked in a strange reflective black outfit with dark spots that covered him as well. His mask was strange as well; a white helmet bearing an angry angel wielding swords. Inhert simply hovered there, not moving at all.

"So you have finally arrived. It took you quite a while, didn't it?"

"Nevertheless, I am here."

"Hm. You're confident. That's good." He then added sternly, "But your confidence is misplaced."

Misplaced? "What do you mean?"

"Why are you here?" he said, seemingly changing the subject.

That annoyed me a bit, but I realized that this was what I came here for anyway. "To obtain the technique that can release my full power."

"Hmph, so you can defeat that brother of yours, yes? He has done quite well for himself. His power is the combination of all Metatron techniques forged into one warrior." He stopped briefly, noticing my less-than-hopeful gaze. "However, you seem to possess that very same power. I have watched you from above and I see that what I thought was true."

"What was?"

"That your twin birth has made both of you powerful. In fact, would it surprise you to know that right now, you possess the same amount of power as Anubis?"

"What? Really?" Although I knew I was stronger than I knew I was, I wasn't quite ready for that. _As powerful as Anubis?_

"Yes. But your power still sleeps. But with my technique, the sleeper will awaken."

"And with that, I can defeat Anubis?"

He chuckled lightly, "Heh. That is the tricky part. That depends on the skill of the runner."

_'Runner?__ Dingo.'_ So even with matching power, I can't do any more than that. It would be up to Dingo.

"I see. Well, in that case, let me have the technique."

His voice became stern again, "Aren't you imprudent? I will not give it to you simply because you ask."

I gave a questioning look, "But why? If what you say is true, then I can defeat Anubis once and for all. He's destroying everything."

"Yes, I know. But I can not. You see, Anubis was my student. I can not help you destroy him without a fight. And although you fought your way here impressively, you haven't shown me personally any reason to teach you the technique."

"Personally? Oh, I see. It's like that, huh?"

His humorous tone came back, "Yes. Very much like that."

"I won't hold back."

"I hope not. You're going to need every once of strength you can summon."

He raised his arms slightly and the corridor platforms suddenly stopped.

"I taught Anubis, so you can be sure that I will not be a simple opponent. And this is my world. My rules." He hovered higher into the air and began to shimmer.

"Prepare yourself, Jehuty!"

I powered up as well, "Let's go."


	16. Sight through the Shadows

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 15

As soon as fight began, something occurred to me. Every single Frame warrior that I've encountered was faster than me. Ardjet's speed was incredible, Vic Viper's was reckless, Nephtis's was insane and Anubis's was awesome.

But this old man was just outrageous. He just hovered back a bit and started flying away. I gave chase, of course, but he was always ahead of me. On top of that he was able to change directions without slowing down, moving like a fly. Worse off, he was moving through the columns surrounding us, causing me to lose track of him a few times. However, he didn't attack...yet.

"Come on, Jehuty. Catch me if you dare."

It was an obvious taunt, but I went after him anyway, increasing my speed enough to keep track of him. I fired several bolts at him, but he merely swerved around and through the corridors, causing them to miss totally. I dived down through and fired again, but he suddenly zipped upward and...disappeared? _Great.__ I lost track of him again._

**_Shhzzzzzz_****_!!!!_**

_What the...?_ A low buzz sounded from above and I looked to see a spread wave of beams flying out at me. Quickly, I zipped to the side as the beams smashed all over the place. I looked up at the source, only to see a black shadow whip out to the side. I tried to intercept him as best as possible, but in the end I wound up chasing him again. _'This is crazy. How can I fight him like this?'_ Inhert suddenly veered toward the wall and I gave chase. But as soon as he reached it, he stopped. _'Why did he...?'_

"Ackkkkk!!!"

I was too busy chasing him that I didn't notice that he had left behind miniature diamonds of energy. The energy homed in on me and smacked me from various directions. After the first few, I raised my shield to defend against the rest, but that when Inhert suddenly came at me. His thick blade cut through the air as it slashed down on my shield, causing it to shatter.

_'No way.'___

Inhert pressed on and slashed out at my unshielded body.  I barely managed to dodge the first three swipes and on the fourth, I raised my own blade to counter. But in mid-counter, he jumped back and crossed his blade. A huge surge of energy shone around his body and he released it in a double cross slash. The attack was devastating as it ripped across my chest and hurled me back into a column. I was hurt, but not too badly. But another attack like that and I would be in serious trouble.

"Come now. That's not all you have to offer, is it?"

I shook the pain away and dove at him again. But again, he swooped off and flew around through the column with incredible speed. I followed suit and I was back to chasing him. _'This is crazy. There's no way I can beat him like this.'_ His speed far exceeded mine and it would only be a matter of time before it overwhelmed me. I had to reach him before he tried anything else. Then a thought occurred. I had to slow him down. And I know just the thing.

"Gauntlet!"

I launched the spark of energy at the swift master. But Inhert merely dodged the blast and it hit one of the columns. But he had gone in the direction I wanted him to and unleashed several more. He continued to dodge and weave through the fire, but it wasn't enough as one managed to hit him in the back and send him flying into the wall. His own speed had been his downfall this time and I lunged in to attack.

"Oh, you are a clever one."

Inhert quickly raised his dual blades once again and crossed them together, blocking my blow. I stepped back and the Metatron master was instantly upon me. I almost raised my shield, but remembered what happened last time and as he struck, I moved off to the side. Without the speed to increase his slash, Inhert slashed at me with normal force. But my shield was able to ward off the attacks. But midway, Inhert immediately stopped and flared with energy again. _'Oh, crap.' _If that hits me, the shield will be shattered again and he'll be free to demolish me. _I have to move now!_ Moving faster than I could think, I dropped my shield, allowing me to move freely. Then I shot back quickly just in the nick of time. Inhert's attack hit nothing but air. And even worse, he left himself open.

-'You're mine!'-

In agreement, I shot back at him and slashed wildly, hitting him with great force and rendering him powerless to stop it. During the attack, I stopped briefly to charge my own power and I spun in an energized arc, slashing him right across the chest. Inhert's body changed white and was knocked backward.

_'Alright.__ I did it.'_

One of these days, I'll learn.

Inhert suddenly folded back upright and his body shifted to its normal sleek black color.

"Excellent Jehuty. You were able to adapt well to my tactics. Now let see how you fare against this!"

Inhert stretched his arms to the side, blades pointing out as well. I stared in anticipation, waiting for whatever attack he may unleash. But instead, a black mist shot out from his body and spread out in all direction. I looked around in confusion as the mist continued to grow all around. _'What the heck is this?'_ Inhert's dark body vanished completely and I was surrounded by complete darkness. I couldn't see anything at all. Nothing but a black void.

"I hope you're not afraid of the dark, hehe."

I growled to myself. _How could I fight him now?_ My vision in this is very limited, I wouldn't see him until he was upon me and by that time it'll be too late.

-'I'll have to trust my instincts.'-

Inhert did say that my power would be dependant on Dingo. This would be a good way to learn it better. If I live through it.

-'Shield!'-

I raised my shield at Dingo's warning and moment later, several energy diamonds hit. The shield protected me, but if not for the warning, I would have been hurt more.

-'Move!'-

_Move?_ I soon learned what he meant. From the darkness, a massive ring of energy came right at me. The power from it was too great to block and it was too close to get out of its way. Reacting again, I curved my way within the ring so that it wouldn't hit me and it passed by.

_'That was way too close.'_

I had to get on the offensive. But in order to do that, I would have to find him. How could I find him in this darkness? I couldn't see anything within. I would have to trust my other senses then. I focused my thoughts for a moment, trying to find another way to locate him until I realized something vital.

_'Of course.__ The Metatron.'_

Even though he emitted a different wave of metatron than me, I was still able to sense it. It was how Frame Warriors are able to tell when another was near. I can't believe I forgotten that. Especially after my encounters with Anubis, since his was matched with mine. And since Inhert was a master, he would emit a stronger energy. I quickly swooped to the source, blocking any missiles and avoiding any mines he sent my way until I finally saw him. But there was one problem.

"You've got to be kidding me."

I was faced with images of seven Inherts, all arranged before me. The old man was chuckling as I tried to determine which one was him.

"Enny, minne, minny, mo. Hahahahaha!"

_'Oh he's really getting on my nerves.'_ I decided to chance it and attacked the one on the lower right. But it shimmered, revealing to be nothing but a fake. Even worse, the rest of the images shimmered and revealed that they were more than illusions. They were missiles. _He set me up!_ I raised my shield and barely blocked the missiles that hit me. But then out of nowhere, he appeared and slashed the shield again with high speed force. My shield shattered again and he slashed across my chest again. I quickly raised my blade to block before he struck again, but the damage had been done. I was hurt badly. In rage, I pushed him away and attacked back, but he did nothing more than counter my slashes with his own. He managed to slip back again and charge himself once more. _'No way.__ His slash attack wouldn't hit me at that distance.'_ But rather than slash, he bent his head down, raising his back. A thick ball of energy shot out and slowly came at me. I jumped back just before it exploded.

_'That would have finished me off.'_

Inhert raised himself upright and flew back, disappearing in the darkness. I couldn't fight like this any longer. I'm fighting on his terms with his rules. The only way I can beat him is to change those rules. I sensed for his energy and locked on. But rather than attack, I flew away. For a moment, nothing happened and then his spray attack appeared. But it was too far away to hit me. More attacks shot up out of nowhere, but I merely avoided them and flew around. The energy began to intensify and a split second later, he flew at me. His blades cut through the darkness, but I raised my blade, stopping it.

"It's not so fun when you have to pursue, isn't it?"

He seemed shocked at what had just happened. I had lured him to me, putting him on the offensive and predicting his attack the same as he had done with me. Now that I had him, I slashed out at him. He raised his own shield, but I stopped mid-way, powered up, and spun in my attack, breaking his shield. With his defenses down, I slashed across his body with excessive force, ending it with another Metatron-enhanced spin slash. Inhert cried out in pain and he flew backward. As he began to fall, the darkness cleared around us and revealed the chamber once again. Inhert crashed to the ground and as he did, he raised a burst of energy onto me. I thought it was an attack, but rather, my energy returned to me. And..._something__ else?_

**_-Homing Missile-_**

_Another technique._ But this wasn't the one he mentioned before. Putting it aside, I flew down to the defeated master. Despite his injuries, he chuckled.

"Heh, most impressive. Your skills have matured to an impressive level. Perhaps you'll... defeat him after all." He struggled to face me. "The technique you desire is within me. But its power is too great to awaken immediately. It'll take time before it does. And also..." He looked at himself, "I am too injured to give it to you. You'll have to send the runner to unlock it."

I nodded and was about to say thank you when he suddenly jerked, "Oh, no. He's coming."

I was about to ask who when I felt the familiar resonance. _Oh no, not now!_

Anubis…


	17. Crimson Death

Disclaimer: Same as always. See chapter one.

Chap. 16

_Anubis__ is coming!_ Unconsciously, I started to panic. _He's...wait, calm down._ I forced myself to clear my head. _Okay. This just means that we'll have to move fast._ If Dingo gets caught before he can obtain the technique, then we're all in serious trouble. It was risky, but...

-"Be careful."-

_Be careful? What was he talking about?_ The answer came when I opened up and Ken floated out toward the battered Inhert. _Ken? No!_ I couldn't let her risk her life. I promised Ardjet that I would take care of her. But unfortunately, there was no other option. And it was too late to stop her anyway. I just had to wait, and hope that she returned in time. I could see Dingo's face now. He seemed worried, but hid it well. Ken's form eventually reached the side of Inhert's head and she reached for the technique. She then unlocked it from Inhert and its energy sheered out and at me. My body was flooded with incredible energy before it faded away within.

**_-Zero Shift-_**

But something was strange. Although I felt the energy of the technique, I couldn't tap into its power. But I was warned that it would take time for me to use. Suddenly, the chamber above began to rumble loudly. It didn't take a genius to know that Anubis was here. And Ken had no way of reaching me before he arrived. I was about to move down myself to retrieve her, but instead she ducked away from the debris and hid under Inhert's body. Dingo closed the chamber just as the cavern crashed in loudly. Debris and dust came in and in the midst of it, a form warped in a materialized before me.

"I've found you."

I seethed, "Anubis."

His usual grin was crossed on his face as he floated in front of me, "We've got to stop meeting like this, brother. It could be bad for your health." He cocked his head slightly, "I see you still intend to oppose me. I wonder...oh I see. It's...what's his name...ah yes, Dingo. He's still alive. Incredible, isn't it?"

"What is?"

His tail danced around aimlessly, "The power we both possess. Within you lies a dead soul, alive again. While I have taken the living and granted them death with a single wave. Don't you see? We are gods as was always meant to be."

"Gods?" I shot back. "You think killing innocent lives and destroying a planet makes you a god?"

He shrugged, "Me? Hahahahaha!!! I have nothing to do with it. I'm merely following Metatron's call. The blood that surges within me and you."

"You're insane!"

Anubis didn't respond. Rather, he raised his arm into the air. Volts of red metatron energy crackled above his head. I stood ready to fight when he swung his arm, not at me, but at the floor below, straight at Inhert.

"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

"What...stop it!"

The volts of energy smashed into the ground around Inhert. He wasn't hit directly, but the force of the energy was harming him further. After several blasts, Anubis stopped.

"Inhert, you sedimental old fool. I never really thought you'd betray me." He looked back at me. "You just can't trust anyone these days, can you?"

"That was pointless." I grumbled. Attacking a warrior is one thing, but not when they are completely defenseless.

"What? Oh yes, of course. You treasure life." He folded his arms once again, "Well, how would you feel to know that your existence has cost many lives already?"

_'What?'_ "What do you mean?"

"Those that gathered the Metatron for our creation have paid with their lives. A fitting task for a species whose life means nothing."

I didn't believe it. He had to be lying. But...Anubis has done a lot of things, but he's never lied. _No, he has to be wrong._

"You mean...people have died for us to live?"

"That's right. In fact, your runner was supposed to be one of them. But by some miracle, he survived. Like a cockroach."

I growled, but I began to sense Dingo's presents thoughts. _His final mission, the transfer of Metatron and Nohman's betrayal._Anubis was right. _But still..._

"Enough. I don't care what happened in the past. You will not destroy and kill anymore. I will stop you!"

He crackled, "Hahahahahahaha!!!!! You and what army? Or maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe you can defeat me now. Let's find out." He suddenly raised his arms up and outward. "Come on. Get me!"

"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

I wasn't aware of the rage I was building up in me since his arrival, but now I went at him in a murderous frenzy. Anubis smirked at my attack and as my blade was ready to come down on him, he disappeared.

I snapped my head upward, but there was no sight of him anywhere. Looking around, I could barely make out his shadowy visage warping through the columns. I began to calm down. _Alright, let's review._ I've obtained more techniques and gain more strength from my previous battles, so I might be able to do something to him. But then I remembered before. I had these techniques before when I was in the Antillia. Even though the ones I had now were more powerful versions, I doubted that they would have any better effect on a creature like Anubis. I would have to rely on my natural power.

"What's wrong, Jehuty? Having second thoughts?"

I turned around to see Anubis a short distance away. He was flying at me with his lance out. I quickly unsheathed my own blade and blocked. But Anubis's force was too great and I was slammed backward, almost hitting the wall. I stopped myself just in time to see him disappear again. _Where is he now?_

"Ha!"

Anubis suddenly reappeared right in front of me. His lance was about to stab into my chest when out of sheer luck, I dodged to the side, causing it to impale into the wall. Taking advantage, I moved in to slash at him, but he had pried the lance from the wall and warped again. I had to focus. We both had the same metatron, so I should be able to trace him somewhat. The shadows of his being were moving around the chamber rapidly, almost untraceable. _Almost._

-"There!"-

I suddenly shot my hand toward the mid-corner and fired a wave of metatron beams. Just at that moment, Anubis reappeared and the beams hit him full on. But he had made no attempt to defend and the beams did absolutely nothing to him. He gave me a wry look.

"What was that supposed to be?"

I growled and made ready to fire another wave, but Anubis had warped again, this time to top center of the chamber.

"Brother! Let me show you how it's done!"

Stretching his hand again, he fired his own wave of energy beams. The beams soared around in a strange zigzag formation like blaring veins. The beams were curving at high speed, all coming right at me. I flew of to the side, but the beams seemed to follow me, no matter where I went.

"Decoy!"

My shadowy image was left behind and the beams hit it and smashed into the wall. I was in stealth so that may give me from breathing space.

"You can't hide from me."

Anubis warped and reappeared at another area. His wings converged together and dark energy began to surge within him. He suddenly released a thick flare of energy and it came right at me. _How could he know where I am?_ I dashed away again, with the flare flying right behind me. I swiftly swooped upward and caused the flare to hit the column, causing it to explode and crumble. Backing away from the damaged area, I waited for Anubis to appear. I tried to sense him, but it was too difficult. But there was a reason for that. He had appeared right behind me.

"Sucker."

His lance bore down on me and it was too late to defend as the bladed lance slashed down my shoulder. I reeled back, my shoulder in scorched pain.

"You're we..."

He didn't see it coming. For that matter, neither did I. Somehow, through another miracle, I ignored the pain of my slashed shoulder and charged at him. My own blade slashed right across his arm, hurting him. _I...hurt him? I finally hurt him!_ But I was being premature as the attack did only minimal damage and served only to enrage Anubis. Using the butt end of the staff, he smacked me right across the face, causing me to reel back toward the wall. I struggled to stop once again, but Anubis was already firing in red beams, this time with reckless abandon. The beams shatter the entire area I was in, but luckily I was able to avoid the fire. The entire chamber was covered with smoke and I couldn't see him. And judging by his delay in attacks, he couldn't find me either. _But even so, what will I do?_ He's still to strong for me to battle. I only managed to scratch him while he severely hurt me. My injury would heal in time, but not enough considering my opponent. Without the Zero Shift awakening my true power, I still don't stand a chance against him.

_"Get away, Jehuty."_

_'Huh? Inhert?'_

I didn't realize that the smoke had cleared enough for Anubis to spot me. He gleamed evilly.

"There you are!"

With a single toss, Anubis reared his arm back and hurled his lance at me. I was completely caught off-guard as the spear came right at me. But before I knew it, a dark image suddenly tackled me up toward an open hatch that had opened behind me. The spear missed me by a hair and stabbed into the corridor. As I flew back, I noticed the image was one of the afterimages of Inhert.

_"Inhert..."_

_"It is up to you now, Jehuty. You are the one...to save us all."_

Unfortunately for me, I could still hear through his thoughts. Thoughts of relief which was soon followed by pain and finally these last words...

"Foolish old man! You can't even die right!"

"Guuaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!"

I shut my eyes solemnly as I was finally thrown outside. The afterimage of Inhert faded away into nothingness and I flew away.

_'Thank you, master.'_


	18. Heading to Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own ZOE, yadda, yadda, yadda.

AN: This chapter will be a bit short. Sorry.

Chap. 17

As I soared through the winds, I thought about what had just transpired. Inhert was dead and Ken may be as well. _'Ardjet.__ I'm sorry.'_ I had failed to keep my promise. But before I could mourn, I could hear Dingo's voice again. _He was talking to...Ken? She was still alive?_ I began to focus on the conversation.

-"I'll come back for you."-

-"No. Anubis is still here."-

At this point, I didn't care. Anubis or not, I will come back. But then my reason entered into my mind. It would do no good if Anubis killed me. The previous battle made it clear that I'm still no match for him. As much as I hated it, returning would be suicide.

-"You must, even if I don't make it. Listen, please. Be sure to stop Aumann."-

Yes. I must. Even from here, I could feel Aumaan's power growing. It would only be a matter of time before it was complete and Anubis would use its destructive power. I noticed Dingo's silence as his thoughts were more troubled than mine. _He...cares for her...deeply._

-"We're pals now, aren't we?"-

-"...Yeah."-

As I thought. Dingo wished the same as me. But there was something greater to worry about. She was still alive, so at least that was consolation enough. And Ardjet had said that she was strong, so I must believe that she will survive this. But my destiny had yet to be fulfilled. _Destiny..._ It would seem that I was indeed fated to confront Anubis at Aumaan. Only time will tell. Because of my thoughts, I was cut off from the rest of Ken's plea and I heard no more. _Aumaan__.__ That's where I must go._

_'Jehuty.__ Can you hear me?'_

_'That voice...'_

_'Vic...?'_

_'Yeah, it's me.',_ the falcon warrior responded.

_'Where are you?'_

_'In the outskirts of the BAHRAM stronghold.'___

_'Heading to Aumaan?'_ But I didn't need to ask. It was blatantly obvious. Both Vic and Leo wanted this ended as well and he had said that he would be ahead of me.

_'Of course.__ Everyone is.'_

_'Everyone?'___ I questioned.

_'The remaining LEV soldiers have joined up for one massive assault against Aumaan.'_

_'LEV soldiers attacking?__ No offense, but that doesn't sound too bright.'_

It was true. LEV soldiers are scarcely strong enough to take on a horde of BAHRAM creatures. Their strength, though strong, was extremely limited and they didn't have the maneuverability of many of the BAHRAM forces. And if they were going up against the stronghold of BAHRAM, Aumaan, then there will bound to be a powerful force awaiting them. And to top it off further, Anubis will the right in the center of it and none of them stands a chance against him.

_'I know.'_ Vic replied back. _'But they refuse to back down and are willing to go all the way.__ In a way, this will be our last chance to stop Anubis.'_

That too was true. If Anubis wasn't stopped here and now, then he will awaken Aumaan and all will be lost. I had to get there. They will need my help. And I was the only one who could break through Aumaan's shield with the Vector Cannon technique.

_'Then I will meet up with you as...'_

A sudden rumbling caught my attention. Right above me loomed a colossal barge ship. It vibrated with vast energy and I could see that it was equipped with various forms of destructive weaponry. As it passed overhead, I felt more turbulence and another ship loomed overhead as well. That one was followed by three more, totally five ships. They passed over as though they didn't see me. Either that or didn't care. But it was then that I noticed that they were going the same direction that I was.

_'Vic, there's trouble.'_ I called back.

_'Yeah, I can sense it too.' _Vic answered. _'Five barges approaching.__ They must be calling them here to us.'_

It looks like they were going to demolish the attack force before they even reached Aumaan. Well, not if I can help it. It may be a long shot, but that seems to be the...how do humans say it....'the story of my life.'

_'I'll deal with these guys. You continue on.'_

_'No way.__ I'll come and back you up.'_ Vic argued.

_'No.__ If I don't make it, then you'll be needed to lead the troops into Aumaan.'_ I stopped briefly. _'Besides, you wanted to get there first, right?'_

A gruff snort came back and was followed by a long sigh, _'Fair enough. If you survive, you know where to find us.'_

_'Gotcha.'___

Our talk was cut off and I now focused my attention on the enemy fleet. It appears they have noticed me, since their weapons were now training themselves onto me.

_Time to go to work..._


	19. Fire in the Sky

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

_AN: I feel I must apologize. I my usual rush to write this fanfic, I keep forgetting to thank those who read and review it, (That of course, means you.) so I'll start that back up again._

**__**

**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ Of course.__ And yes, I will be continuing this_

**_Librarose_****_-_**_ Thank you very much. ^_^_

Chap. 18

The beautiful skies of Vascillia were soon engulfed with energy fire as I swooped into battle against the warships. Due to their lack of maneuverability, I was able to dodge their fire easily. But I still had to keep my guard up. These weapons could do a great deal of damage to me if I get careless. I swooped toward the nearest ship. Various weapons were lined on the machine and they all fired at me. But it was mostly nothing but solid bullets.  Moving in, I skimmed on the hull where most of it couldn't hit me. But suddenly, several objects appeared before me.

_'Raptors.'___

The thin, dual-bladed minions attacked me, but I shot away. Unfortunately, I had moved away from and the warship was able to fire on me once again. The Raptors didn't follow and I was faced with another object or better yet, objects. Coming in, a swarm of Mosquitoes came at me like a cloud. _'Time to pull out the bug-spray.'_

"Phalanx!"

The random spray of fire smashed into dozens of Mosquitoes, but the swarm continued to come. Retracting my blade, I dove in and began to hack down each and every one, causing them to vanish in puffs of smoke. Now that accomplished, I turned my attention back to the ship and its guards. Mummyheads had appeared as well, but none of them were coming to attack. Why was that?

_'High energy...evade!'_

The sudden instinctual warning snapped me into full gear just as a thin red beam of light came up from the far end of the warship. A second later, a huge beam of intense energy shot out, nearly hitting me. One second later and I would have been incinerated. That also explains why the Raptors haven't moved. I can't do any damage as long as they are there and I can't fight from a distance because of the cannon. None of my weapons are strong enough to destroy a Raptor or a Mummyhead from here and my Metatron energy sphere would take too long to charge up. The cannon would get me for sure if I stay at one spot. _'Wait. What about that other weapon I received from Inhert? Perhaps that can help here.'_

"Homing Missile, emerge!"

I raised my arm and a sheet of white projectiles spread across my back. As I continued to summon, more emerged until they were lined up on my back like extra wings. I flew toward the waiting guards. They awoke and began to advance on me. _'Alright, let's see what these things can do.'_

"Homing Missile, seek and destroy!"

The projectile swarmed off my back and into the air. They fluttered for a brief while before descending on the targets. I was truly amazed as each missile impacted with an enemy and totally annihilated it. And the missile that didn't attack an enemy crashed into some of the warships cannons, destroying them instantly. With its defenses down, I moved in to attack. But the warning light in my head went off again and I once again dodged the deadly beam of fire from the ship's cannon.

-"That thing's gotta go."-

_Right._ I moved in low, skimming across the hull and reaching the cannon. Raising my blade, I gave it a quick slash. But it wasn't damaged as badly as I thought. And worse yet, it was charging up again. By some stroke of luck (or insanity), I charged myself as well. The red glow began to blind me somewhat, but I didn't stop as I cycled the Metatron power into my blade. Then with a swirl of energy, I spun around, destroying the cannon before it could fire. I backed away as I saw the weapon's destruction affect the ship, causing it to explode in various places. But the ship was still operational. And its few remaining weapons were still firing on me_. 'I don't get it. How could it still be moving after that?'_ Also, the other ships were beginning to close in on me. These things have to have a weakness. As I examine the damaged ship, my vision caught sight of an undamaged area. Flying down, I saw a circular device which pulsated with great energy.

_'This must be the core.'_

Without wasting a second, I raised my arm and summoned the Metatron Sphere. It filled with intense energy and I shot it directly at the core. The energy ball exploded, nut to no avail. The core was still there. _'No way.__ That was point blank range.'_ A shimmer of light caught my attention and I moved closer to see an energy shield. It radiated into the air and shimmered to one of the nearby ships. So that's it. The core is being shielded by some sort of energy field. Even more so, the shield was being powered by one of the ships; most likely the central ship. If I destroy that, then I should be able to destroy the others as well. Leaping away from the damaged ship, I followed the energy shimmer up to the main ship. It was armed with even more weapons than the last one and was guarded more heavily. As I looked, the hull supported long, pole-like objects on it that fired some sort of energy beam that curved through the air...at me. I quickly dodged the fire, but those beams were far too accurate to fight from a distance. But that was okay.

"Homing Missile!"

The spread of missiles unhinged on my back once again and I let them fly. They exploded on the beam pole, damaging them, but not destroying all of them. Two were left. And I didn't have enough energy to summon another salvo of missiles. _Guess I'll have to get in close after all._ My wings ignited, I blasted toward the warship with all its weapons firing at me. I swerved, spun and dodged every shot until I finally reached the hull. There, two Raptors and three Mummyheads awaited me. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but with that every destructive energy cannon supporting them, they posed somewhat of a threat. If they kept me still for long enough, the cannon would eradicate me. Sweeping to the side, I fired small bolts of Metatron at my adversaries, hoping to weaken them somewhat. The two Raptors came right at me and slashed down. I dodged the blades and slashed back. I destroyed one, but the other was critically damaged. I was about to move in to finish it when the cannon's red beam came into my sights. I shot downward, almost hurting myself in that as the beam fired. Looking back up, I saw the damaged Raptor get repaired by the Mummyhead. And the remaining forces were coming in on me. And there were also the ship's side cannons that were firing on me.

-"This is going to be a long one."-

First thing's first. I raised my shield to block the cannon fire. As that happened, the Mummyhead began to move ever closer. I had just enough energy to do this, so I had to aim this right.

"Comet!"

The small ball of energy launched out into the air, but instead of hitting the Mummyheads, it went right behind them and destroyed one of the ship's cannons. It then bounced off of that and hit a Mummyhead from behind, causing it toe crash into the one in front of it. While this happened, I swooped in, grabbed the falling Mummyhead and flung it at its partner, destroying him. With only one Mummyhead left, I launched a volley of energy blasts, smashing into it until it exploded. With that done, I moved upward again to face the last Mummyhead and Raptor, who was completely repaired. My energy was near empty, but I had just enough to force out...

"Wisp!"

The wire of energy hooked onto the Mummyhead and brought it to me. Charging myself, I paralyzed it in my grip while the Raptor came in to attack. I didn't fight back, but rather I raised the Mummyhead up to use as a shield. _'Come on. Just a little more.'_ The Raptor continued to attack, ignoring the thin red beam that shone on its back.

"Now!"

Quickly, I tossed the Mummyhead and flew up. The Mummyhead crashed into the Raptor, damaging them both. At the same time, the main cannon reached full power and fired, annihilating its own guardians and supplying me with their renewing energy. With the cannon powering down, I was already forming my Metatron Sphere. The cannon would never fire again as the ball of blue energy came down and destroyed it. Like the last on, the ship exploded in various areas, but kept flying. I flew toward the rear where the core resided. It pulsated louder than the other one and gave off far more energy. I began to summon my sphere again, but stopped after realizing that it didn't work the last time. _'The shield is just too powerful.'_ None of my weapons, not even the Homing Missile could break through it. The shield is...just like the shield around Aumaan. Impenetrable to all weapons except one.

_'The Vector Cannon!'___

I had forgotten that I even had it, but it was still with me. I knew that the power of this technique was too great to use often so I had to wait until the situation called for it. I landed on the warship and began to call forth the weapon, summoning it to life.

_"Encase my body with glowing power_

_And fill my veins with Metatron thunder."_

Raising my arms, a bright light encased around me and I was now loaded with gigantic armor.

_"Show me the target of your rage_

_Let the spheres of light engage."_

I center my arms toward the core and focused the incredible power I felt within me. As I did, globes formed before me and began to spin in one circle. They began to move rapidly until they looked like a single ring of light in front of me. I continued to focus until a flash pf light shone in my mind. Now is the time...

_"Shine forth the fire of Armageddon_

_Unleash the power of the Vector Cannon!"_

With that last cry, I summoned the V. Cannon's full power. A galactic beam of pure white light shot out and smashed into the core. The shield looked as though it would hold, but it was no match for the V. Cannon as it crumbled and shattered, leaving the beam to continue onto the core. The core exploded tremendously, literally knocking me off the ship as it exploded further. And this time, it was damaged enough for it to begin to plummet down to the ground. As I looked around, the other ships had lost their primary shield and were rendered defenseless. With the shields down, they were now fully open to my attack. Unlatching my blade once again, I flew at my targets...

----------

-"Finished."-

With that, I watched as the last ship fell down to the Martian soil. It was also a comfort to see the escape pods eject from the ships, the human workers escaping the disaster. With my mission completed, I was about to turn and head for Aumaan when I began to resonate again. _'Anubis?'_ No, it wasn't him. The energy didn't match with mine, so it couldn't be him. But it did mean that another Frame Warrior was approaching. As I looked around for my possible opponent, the clouds in front of me literally parted. I looked forward, then upward as the massive form stood over me. He was circular in appearance, but he seemed to be tucked inward, like a shell. His head looked down at me and a bellowing laugh echoed out.

"So you are the great Jehuty. I've been waiting for you."

I looked up at this massive warrior, "Who the heck are you?"

The warrior bellowed again, "I am Zakat, the scorcher of Mars. I have long waited to do battle with you, Jehuty."

"I don't want to fight with you, Zakat. But if you don't step aside, you'll leave me with no choice."

Zakat laughed again, "In that case, I remain where I am. Now I get to test my true might against a decent opponent."

"I'll say again, get out of my way!"

"Find another way!"


	20. Zakat

Disclaimer: Same as always. See chapter one.

**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ Actually no.__ But for story writing purposes, I altered it slightly. And you must be really good to get through with everyone alive. I have yet to do that. *sigh*_

Chap. 19

-"Here we go!"-

With a burst of energy, I launched myself straight at the massive Frame Warrior. He was further away than I thought, but I continued on. But before I could get any closer, parts of his armor stretched out and an orange glow surrounded his entire body. _'I've seen this before.'_ Unfortunately, if it was the same as Nephtis, then I wouldn't be able to get close to him. As I examined him, Zakat suddenly shot at me like a cannonball. I shot away to the side, but size made it unavoidable. The shield hit me hard and I was hurled to the side, spinning through the open sky. I managed to regain my bearings and looked as Zakat remained in place.

"What the matter? I expected more from the brother of Anubis."

I don't know what happened, but upon hearing that name, I launched myself at him in rage. My blade unsheathed, I slashed the shield but to no avail. _'I have to calm down.'_ But looking back, I saw that my attack wasn't useless. My blade had nicked one of the armor plates, damaging it. Moving quickly, I attacked it with several more slashes, ripping it apart. At its destruction, the shield shimmered and the glow dulled a bit. _'That's it. The plates.'_

"Not so fast."

Suddenly, his body flipped and a powerful surge of energy began to charge into him. Worse yet, I was right in its face.

"Devastator Blast!"

An intense beam of orange energy flared out of him and at me. On pure instinct (or luck), I swooped to the side. But the attack beam continued to follow me. _'Come on, come on!'_ The beam closed in and I felt the scorching heat emanate from it. But just before it could touch my feet, it dissipated into the air. I stopped as well, and took a breather. _'That attack could have annihilated me.'_

"Are you impressed?" he gloated. "Wait until you see this."

As he said that, a new set of armor plates shifted within the shield and shot out blades of light. He began to swing them vertically while twirling his body. I ducked and dodged the blades and began to move in close. Fortunately, his ability with the blades was terrible, but I still had nothing to fight him with. As long as the shield was up, he was impervious to any attack I may throw at him. _Wait. Of course, the outer armor._ There were still three plates on the outside. If I take those out, then there was a good chance that his shield will fall as well. Still dodging the blades, I attacked the second plate. But before it could be destroyed, he shot away from me at high speed.

"Running away so soon, Zakat?"

Zakat laughed back, "Hardly. But a great warrior knows when to back off. You have yet to do anything to me. And you won't have the opportunity either."

He began to shine brightly and I knew he was going to charge at me again. But as he did, I saw one of the outer plates facing me. _'Maybe...'_

"Wisp! Bind and capture!"

Zakat laughed again as the energy wire shot out at him. "You intend to capture me with that?"

But the wire didn't go to him, but rather it latched onto the outward plate. Pulling hard, I yanked the plate off and grabbed in my hand. But before it could reach me, Zakat launched himself at me in full fury. The plate finally reached my hands and on instinct, I pulled it up before me. Zakat rushed me full force, but the plate protected me from the force of the attack.

"How...!"

I didn't answer him. Rather, I threw it into the damaged plate that was still attached to him, destroying them both. The shield dimmed immensely, becoming only a flicker of light. 

-"One more to go."-

I zoomed in again to nab the final plate, but Zakat raised his body again. As before, his body began to flare with immense power. _'Oh no.__ I'm not going to be able to avoid that! What was I going to do?'_

"Devestator..."

Suddenly a thought occurred. _If the plating could shield me from his charges...I have to try. Triumph or die._

"Wisp!"

The wire snagged the final plate just as the energy reached a blinding point. Quickly, I placed it before me and hoped that this worked.

"Blast!"

The beam fired again, smashing right into me. I shut my eyes as the light engulfed me and pushed me back partly. I continued to hold my place and I noticed that the armor plate began to crack. As the beam continued to pour itself on me, the plate cracked more and more until finally it shattered.

"No!"

But when it faded away, his attack was done with and was no longer at me. Zakat was now defenseless and open. Plus, he was weakened by the energy he used on me. Retracting my blade, I swooped right through Zakat's armor and hacked away. I slashed away furiously, damaging his body with my slashing.  In mid-slash, I flared my body with Metatron and unleashed my Metatron Lunar Slash. The attack hurt him severely as he backed away. I watched him fly away, blade still extended.

"Impressive Jehuty," he said after he recovered. "You are as strong as I hoped. I'm burning to try my hand at you."

Suddenly, his body began to shift and change. His circular armor plates extended outward and his head stretched out as well. Two rings of armor also encircled around him. Zakat was now completely different than he was before.

"Now, the real fun begins."

The rings spun around him and the energy blade emerged again. They slashed out faster than before, but they were still avoidable. At least now, there was no shield to worry about. And his head was now exposed so that would be my prime target. I swooped through the beam and flew straight at his head. But before I could reach him, black balls of energy formed around him where the rings were at. I stopped to examine them when they suddenly flew at me. I shot away while dodging to the side to avoid them, but Zakat summoned more energy sphere and let them loose. I raised my shield and blocked the brunt of the assault, but it took a lot out of me to do so.

"Let see you fare against this."

Zakat suddenly focused his energy and created a single energy ball. But it didn't fly at me. Rather it grew and began to gather in more energy. As it did, I suddenly began to feel a strange pull on me. _'What the…? A gravity well?'_ I turned around to try to pull away, but the best I could do was become stationary. And now I was stuck.

"Try all you want, but you'll never escape."

Zakat suddenly lashed his arm out and struck me with a viscous blow. I almost cried in pain, but that's when the well pulled me in further. I forced myself to recover and stopped myself from going deeper. The well had grown in an immense size and was pulling me harder than before. And Zakat was preparing to strike again. Only one thing to do. I waited for the blow from Zakat before I pushed myself to the side, dodging it totally. But now I was even closer to the well. _That's going to stop now._ I let the Metatron power fill my body and raised my hand to summon the sphere. I had to reach full power for this to work. The energy sphere reached full power, but Zakat was ready to strike again. Ignoring him, I let the sphere fly at the well and the two balls of energy collided and exploded. With the gravity gone, my body shot away and I avoided the blow Zakat lashed out with. I flew back in a half spin, but recovered and ready to fight once again.

"Alright Zakat. This stops now."

Wings open, I shot of to the side and fired a spray of energy beams. The beams smashed into the armor around Zakat's head, but did nothing aside from throwing up puffs of smoke. Not stopping, I continued to fire, damaging the armor only minimally and throwing up more smoke.

"Ha. It this all you've got?"

However, Zakat had lost track of me briefly. His gaze slowly shifted and found my form. Rearing his arm back, his fist suddenly shot out and hit...

"A decoy?"

Zakat was too distracted by the decoy I left behind to notice that I had in fact flew beside his head in the midst of the smoke. While I did, I left a decoy behind that would distract him further and give me enough time to gather my power for a full blast Metatron Sphere right next to his head. Zakat's head slowly turned to me and I saw his eyes widen with shock.

"Oh sh..."

I launch the sphere at point-blank range and it exploded tremendously. Zakat roared in pain and his entire body fell backward. As his body fell through the clouds, a small pod shot out from his body. The runners had escaped. That suited me just fine. Despite their intent, I had no wish to kill anyone. Even if it is my worse enemy. Except for one...

As Zakat disappeared, a light shot out of his body and engulfed me. I was surprised and jerked back involuntarily, but calmed when I realized that I had been endowed with another technique.

**_-Floating Mine.-_**

Shaking away the surprise, I suddenly remembered what I was doing out there at all. Vic Viper and the rest of the LEV soldiers must be almost at Aumaan right now. Now that the battleship threat is gone, it was time for me to join my comrades. Once done, our next stop is Aumaan. And lurking within Aumaan, Anubis will be waiting.

_'Here I come.'_


	21. Duty of a Survivor

Disclaimer: See chapter one

**_chero666-_**_ Yep, it's the war scene. But the actually fighting won't be until the next chap._

**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ True, I don't use decoy that much either, but it still looks cool so I figured I'd use it more often. Oh, and here's the next chapter!_

_AN: Short chapter ahead_

Chap.20

The vast desert expanse loomed before me as I soared through the clouds. Leaving the lofty battlefield of the sky, I dove close to the ground. There was nothing but a barren desert wasteland. At least in the battle to come, there will be no innocents to be hurt. Speaking of which, up ahead were several moving objects. The LEV soldiers. I almost missed them due to their sand-colored armor. They were skimming the desert sands heading in the left direction. _Heading for Aumaan no doubt._ But why would they? Even if their numbers were tripled, they stand no chance again the BAHRAM army. I guess I'll find out.

As I flew closer, I noticed that the LEV's had stopped and turned to look in my direction. That didn't surprise me. What surprised me is that they all raised the weapons and aimed them at me. _'What are they doing?'_

"Frame Warrior Jehuty. Surrender at once."

I continued toward the ground and landed before them. Despite their numbers, I wasn't afraid of them. Aside from the fact that I've pretty much went through much worse in the past several days, LEV's were pretty much under-classed when it came to Frame Warriors. But still, why were they turning on me?

"What's this all about?"

"Stop right there, Jehuty."

_'Hey, I recognize that voice.'_ "T?"

One of the LEV's stepped forward. It was him. I don't know how, but he survived...again. T then raised his rifle at me along with the others.

"Don't trust him. He's one of them."

I was taken aback slightly. What is he saying?

"T, what are you talking about?"

The soldier glared, "It all makes sense now. You want to destroy us from the inside."

I shook my head incredulously, "Look. That is enough. We're on the same side."

I took a step closer, but that was a mistake. All of the LEVs took aim as T continued.

"On the same side. Excuse me if I don't believe you, brother of Anubis."

Oh, great. I should have figured that would get me into trouble. Not just from BAHRAM, but also from those who oppose them.

"T..."

T ignored me, "On my mark, bring him down!"

"Wait."

_'Another familiar voice.'_ The LEVs stopped and some of them parted away as Vic Viper strode through them. From the looks on some of their faces, it seemed they had some respect for the falcon warrior. However, that didn't stop the others from aiming at me.

"Put your weapons down. He's on our side."

T snapped his head to Vic, "Stay out of this, Viper. You're still a renegade as far as I'm concerned."

Vic seemed to have ignored the last comment, "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we're all against BAHRAM. We shouldn't fight each other."

I decided it was time to ask my question, "Are you all serious about going up against BAHRAM? No offense, but you don't stand a chance."

T narrowed his eyes at me, "If you knew anything, you wouldn't be asking that."

"Enlighten me."

"Don't you think that we know what we're up against? That the odds are against us? But we must. It's our duty."

I blinked, "You're doing this because someone ordered you?"

"No. Our duty as survivors. We have all fought and lost friends in this conflict. Comrades that have fought and died in this battle so that we would continue. We will honor them."

I remained quiet for a moment. I understood what he said. Many have fought to get me this far. Mostly humans. _Leo, Rock, Ken, even Celvice._ They had all done what they could to keep me going. If they were gone, then I would continue to honor them as well.

"I understand."

T suddenly raised his guard again, "No. You don't. You're just here to destroy us."

I sighed openly, "T. If I wanted you dead, then we wouldn't be here talking now. Think about it. You've seen me in action and you know what I could do."

T growled, but I continued, "I saved your life."

T began to tense up, but slowly he sighed and lowered the gun. The others followed suit.

"So what now?" he asked.

I turned around to look at the desert expanse, "You really want to go to Aumaan?"

"Yes."

I turned back, "Then let me lead you. We all want to see Anubis go down. So we'll all go in and one way or another, we'll end this."

Vic nodded, "Yes. One way or another."

T nodded in agreement and turned to his men, "We end this."

The men all cheered in agreement and flew across the sands once again, with Jehuty in the lead. Vic flew through and beside him.

"Do you think we can really make it?" he asked.

I looked over at my winged comrade. _Comrade, hm._

"We'll make it." I answered. "This is what we all survived for, right? This is our chance to make a difference."

Vic looked back ahead and gave a small smile, "Right. Go for broke."

We all swarmed over the sandy landscape, ready to face whatever there was up against us. It would be a fierce, bloody battle, I know. Many will not survive. But this is what we have to do to.

"Vic. We are the only ones strong enough to fight without too much of a problem. Let's make sure we get as many in as we can."

Vic swooped off to the side, "Roger that."

Soon in the distance, a long plain began to come close on, stretching across the horizon. _'That has to be it.'_

Suddenly, a beam of energy zapped out and hit one of the LEVs. The soldier screamed as he fell back to the ground. A few turned to look at him, but none of them stopped in their charge. As more beam flailed out, the horizon before them became filled with numerous objects. Raptors and Leopardos. A swarm never seen before, even by me. They were everywhere, moving like a cloud right at us. Vic flew back a reverted into his falcon form while I charged my body with Metatron. This was going to be a long battle.

**"Let's go!!!!!!"**


	22. Battlefield of Sorrow

Disclaimer: See chapter one

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**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ I'll remember. Arigato._

**_chero666-_**_ With pleasure!_

**_Raiden-sama_****_-_**_ First, I've never seen Inuyasha, so I'm not sure what you're saying, but thanks. Second, I didn't forget about the Mummy subweapon, but sometimes it feels like cheating, (I know it's not, but still) and I believe that it adds character if Jehuty relied on his own energy and power._

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Chap. 21

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I am quite used to battle. Fighting against dangerous and deadly forces and foes was nothing new to me. But this was different. I never lead a army before, much less fought against so many adversaries at once. I wasn't sure how to feel and the truth was there was no time for it, not yet.

For now, there was only battle...

And so that was it, as I swooped in and battled with the countless hordes of Raptors and Leopardos. If not for their number, they could have been dispatched easily. But that's not the case and there's no sense in complaining about it. Some distance away, Vic Viper was doing his own share of damage, interchanging between his bird form and his warrior form. But he seemed to be staying back, fighting defensively at times. I almost wondered why until I realized that he was supporting the LEV soldiers. They were fighting fiercely against the horde, holding their ground steady. I admired their resolve to keep fighting, but the truth was that they were in trouble. The swarms continued to close in on them, attacking unrelentingly. I had to stop this. I said they would get through and I would try to help as many as I can. Turning around, I looked toward a group of LEVs that were closed in together and fighting a pack of Leopardos and Raptors. _Now how should I start? Ah, I remember..._

"Geyser!"

I let out a spray of white energy pellets, which fell over the soldiers. They seemed a little confused by it, but the resulting energy beams ignited and prevented the enemy from closing in on them. While they struggled to approach, I came up from behind and unsheathed my blade.

"Haaaaaaa!!!!"

A sliver of light and three Raptors blew apart and exploded. A Leopardo was approaching from the ground nearby. His mistake...

"Comet!"

The creature was destroyed by the blue burst of energy, but then four more appeared. I was about to attack once again when they where suddenly riddled with bullet and they blew up one by one. Looking over, I saw the LEV group shooting them and others down.

"Thanks for the help, but we have it now. Go."

I nodded to him and took to the sky again. I saw another group of Raptors approach me rapidly. _A very large group.__ Well, the more the merrier._

"Gauntlet! Ha!"

I lashed out twice, sending two gauntlet blasts. They hit two of the Raptors and sent them crashing into the group. As they struggled to recover, I summoned my Metatron Sphere and let it fly. The energy destroyed three of the Raptors and left two damaged. My wings igniting, I flew in and racked my blade into the first Raptor. The second one managed to recover and slashed down on my back. I was pushed forward a bit before I let my anger flow and the Metatron as well.

"Crescent Slash!!!"

The spinning slash demolished the Raptor and left its pieces to fall to the ground. It was then that I noticed I was becoming fatigued. I have been fighting for much longer time without a cube of Metatron to revitalize me. But that wasn't going to stop me.

"Help!"

Turning my head, I saw a sole LEV soldier in serious trouble. Leopardos was swarming around him, attacking from all sides. Wing ignited again, I prepared to fly in when...

"Help me!"

I turned again. Another LEV was in trouble as well. I turned between them. If I didn't move, they would die_. But who?_ I couldn't reach both of them. Wisp could only reel in one enemy, and the numbers were too numerous for that. I would have to fight directly. But again, who? If I went to one, the other would...

Breaking the thought, I blasted toward one of them in attack. I had to hurry and destroy all of them fast.

"Homing Missile!!!"

I stretch my arms and summoned a full array of missiles. Waving them forward, I let the projectiles fly and they all found their target and destroyed them. Moving next to him...

"Are you alright?"

The soldier nodded, "Yeah. Just give me a minute."

At that moment, another LEV came nearby. It was T.

"Go on. I'll watch him."

I quickly nodded and flew into the air, searching for the second LEV that called. But upon reaching the area, all that was left was a burned area on the ground. I was too late. Time seemed to stop as I realized that others were dying as well. Screams echoed throughout the entire battlefield. People were dying all around me. Yet, all I could think of was this one LEV.

"No...**Raaaahhhhhhhhh****!!!!!!!!!!!**"

My cry was soon accompanied by a frenzied charge into the battle again. Blade unlocked, I targeted the first Raptor I saw.

_'Comrades that have fought and died in this battle so that we would continue.__ We will honor them.'_

And I did. The Raptor found that out firsthand as my blade impaled it through. Pulling it out, I surveyed the scene again. A large squad of Raptors was flying toward a LEV group with a Leopardo group underneath. I wouldn't be able to destroy them all before they reached the LEVs, but I could reduce the numbers.

"Wisp!"

The energy wire lashed out and hooked one of the Raptors. A few of them turned to look at me and came in to attack. Holding the Raptor, I twirled around like a whirlwind and finally tossed it away. It exploded into the others and gave me time to use my next technique.

"Phanlanx!"

I let out the shards of energy and they spread around and crippled the approaching Raptors. Now that they were neutralized for the moment, I focused my attention on the Leopardos. It looks like they all were coming at me. Summoning Phanlanx again, I repeated my action on them, destroying them totally. Looking back up, the Raptors had recovered somewhat and flying in to attack. One reached me first and hit...

...a decoy. The Raptor must have been confused by hitting a shadow. But that ended as I, in stealth mode, approached and slashed it across. The others in the group were searching around for me, but they were unable to see me and I tore them apart one by one. My cloak finally faded and I was visible again. I was now getting really exhausted, but I had to cope. Examining the area, I saw that only a few of the enemy remained and they were currently getting wiped out by the LEVs and Vic Viper. That when my senses went on alert. Turing toward Aumaan, I saw something that made me worry.

-"You can't be serious."-

Another cloud of enemies were coming right at us. They were even more numerous than the ones we fought before.

"This is crazy." Vic gasped. "That's even more than before."

Strangely enough, I didn't respond. Rather, I lowered myself to the ground. Vic gave me a strange look.

"Jehuty?"

I simply looked at the approaching horde, my face neutral as I raised my hands.

_"Encase my body with glowing power_

_And fill my veins with Metatron thunder."_

The armor formed around me once again and I centered my hands forward, continuing the great summon.

_"Show me the target of your rage_

_Let the spheres of light engage."_

The power flooded before me and the ring began their cycle. The Raptors were still a ways off, but they were getting closer. _'Focus...'_ The Raptors closed in as the ring reached full speed. Vic Viper backed away from the awesome power that was in circulation. _'Boy, are they going to get it.'_

_"Shine forth the fire of Armageddon_

_Unleash the power of the Vector Cannon!"_

The pure white light flashed forth and vaporized the Raptors that were close to me. The beam continued on into the center of the Raptor horde, shredding them in a mere blink of an eye. The Raptor spread out and away as I waved the beam left and right. The energy finally gave out and I accessed the damage. I had taken out at least half of the advancing horde and put the outer in disarray. I felt really burned now. My body was straining for energy and using the V. Cannon technique didn't help things. But I still had to go. _Still had to fight._ I forced my wings open again and flew right into the horde. My hands wide open, I fired random blasts at them as I flew through them. The blast didn't destroy any, but it did get their attention and they soon gave chase.

_'Perfect.'_

I twisted my body around and opened my hands wide open. _'Let's see what Zakat left me with.'_

"Floating Mine. Wait for a touch."

A blink of energy flashed and a blue-green ball formed. It floated there while the Raptors flew past. One of them tapped it lightly and the F. Mine exploded with tremendous force, taking out the Raptor and the other in range of the blast. The Raptors scattered around, once again in disarray. That didn't mean I was done with them yet.

"Halbread!"

Focusing the intense energy beam, I shredded through the next Raptor. I then turned it toward the next and destroyed it as well. I destroyed five of them before I stopped. My energy was draining rapidly. I'm not sure I could keep this up much longer. And the horde was still coming.

"Tsssssrrrrrrr!!!!!!"

Suddenly, beams of light streaked the air and through the Raptors. Flying through them at insane speed, Vic Viper shot through then in his falcon form. His shrieks were accompanied by his beam attacks while his feathers detached and impacted with the others. Also, the ground moving Leopardos were being blasted as well. The LEV soldiers were now aligned and firing wildly, trashing the ground moving minions.

"We got you covered", one of them called out.

I watched impressively as they took the scene of battle. The LEVs were hammering in the Leopardo while Vic Viper soared through and destroyed the Raptors. But I couldn't let them have all the fun.

"Homing Missile!"

The missiles set themselves on my back. Holding in the technique, I waited until a full rack of missiles were set and let them all fly. The missiles took down the Raptors by the dozens. I was about to summon another rack when I hesitated. _'What's...happening...?'_ I was feeling really drained, but didn't understand why. Shaking it off, I saw the last of the Raptors approach me. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I had to finish this now. Stretching my hand up, I summoned the sphere and held it to full power. Locking on to the group in the center, I unleashed it. The sphere flew bright and true and it exploded with tremendous force. Raptor parts rained down from the sky and burned. Vic Viper had succeeded in destroying the last remaining Raptors and the few LEV soldiers remaining took out the remaining Leopardos. The firefight and the screams of dying soldiers were gone now. But upon looking at the LEVs, I saw that the price was high...

"Uggghhhhh..."

I suddenly felt extremely weak and lowered to the ground. My knees weakened and I wound up bending down. A suddenly surge of heat coursed through my body and the Metatron within me began to pulsate faster. My hands found themselves planted into the ground as the heat continued to burn through me.

"What's...happening...Guaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

My body suddenly exploded in a column of light that streaked into the very sky. The energy flare intensified and exploded again. The burning suddenly stopped and I felt...fine. _Better than fine._ I was re-energized, no, this was something more. I felt more powerful than I ever felt before. My body was giving off an aura-like glow and three Wisps were encircled around me.

"What...is this?"

**-Zero Shift-**


	23. Version 2

Disclaimer: See chapter one

**_Raiden-sama_****_-_**_ Thanks for clearing that up. And I'm sure Jehuty will enjoy it._

**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ The bit about the swarm thing. I kind of did that by accident. I was just goofing around and said 'Hey, let's give this a shot.' Imagine my surprise. It's not very effective, but its fun nevertheless._

**_chero666-_**_ No truer words were said...Hehehe..._

Chap. 22

"Jehuty? Are you alright?"

I stood in place, examining the changes that had occurred since my transformation. I looked the same, aside from the Wisps circling around my body. But the major thing was the power that was still surging through my body. It was like being bathed and soaked with pure Metatron. In a word, great. But then again, no word or words can really describe it.

"Yeah. Better actually."

Vic gave me a sidelong glance and shrugged, "We better move on ahead."

"Right."

Me, Vic and the remaining LEVs flew into the underground entrance. The LEVs settled themselves around the sides while I and Vic Viper went up front. As I did, I looked at the remaining LEVs. Despite the horrendous fight, there were still a good number of them. I wasn't surprised to see that T was one of them. He survived practically everything thus far. I saw the glance he gave me, nodding as I flew past. As I flew on, several Raptor and Cyclopes flew before us. At the sight of them, I automatically powered up. _'In anticipation?__ Perhaps...'_

-"Let's go to work."-

With that I charged into battle, heading toward the first wave which consisted primarily of Raptors. I decided to fire at them first so that I could get in close. But when I did, instead of a single bolt, three bolts flew out simultaneously. Even more so, they damaged the Raptor more than usual. Deciding to test my close range abilities, I unsheathed my blade and lunged. I was even more amazed that my blade cut through all three of them without as much as a whisper. The Raptors exploded and I looked to my next targets. They were further down the corridor, heading right at me. I guess now is as good a time as any to test my latest weapon.

"Zero..."

But before that could even become a thought, the entire area bent and warped around me. I felt a gigantic rush and I suddenly found myself, right in front of the Cyclops. _'Whoa!'_ If surprise could show on its face, I'm sure it would have matched mine. I snapped out of it quickly enough to lash up with a vertical slash. The others turned to me abruptly only to see my rapidly charging body and I spun around in my Crescent Slash. The energy wave created by it lashed out and cut them all effortlessly. I looked up to the next squadron of Raptors, Mummyheads, and Cyclopses. But they no longer seemed like enemies anymore.

_Now they were target practice..._

And so it was, I flew through the fight with sheer power, force and speed. Using Zero Shift, I materialized to each and every one and used my enhanced power to destroy them all. It was effortless, easy, and completely...exhilarating. So much so that it nearly threatened my sanity. _'Is this how you feel, Anubis? Is this what power has done to you?'_ I reminded myself not to get carried away with it, but this was definitely easily said than done. I continued to warp, blast and slice all opposition. They didn't stand a chance against me and I wasn't even trying. Reaching the lower corridor, there was another entrance that led deeper in. I began to approach it when a group of Mummyheads and Cyclopes blocked my path.

_'They just don't get it.'_

The space around me began to bend once again and my body was suddenly beside one of the Mummyheads. My hand quickly latched onto it and I tossed it at another. The two Mummyheads crashed against the wall with a loud bang. The Cyclopes turned to face me, but they were too late as I had already summoned a Metatron Sphere. The now blue-green ball was encircled by the Wisps.

"Ardjet. Lend me your strength."

I launched the sphere and it hit the Cyclops with tremendous force. So much so that the others around it were damaged heavily and even the Mummyheads were blown back against the wall again by the resulting shockwave. But when the explosion cleared, I noticed that the Sphere was still in place, albeit smaller than before. Plus, the Wisp line was being traced back to me. Reacting to this new development, I pulled off to the side, causing the sphere to crash into the nearby Cyclops and destroy it as well. The Wisps returned to my side and I looked at the remaining targets. A damaged Cyclops and two twisted Mummyheads.

The sequence went like this. _Shift, slash, explode, spread fire, explode, shift, stab, finish..._

And all of it was over within a span of two seconds (maybe less). With the threat (use the term very loosely) eliminated, I made my way into the next corridor. It was darker and far narrower than what I've just come from, but I had no problem going into and through it. This was going to end and it was going to end...

-"Ken!"-

_'Ken? She's alive!' _I felt a sudden wave of relief in finding this out. But that relief was soon clouded. _'Wait. Does this mean she's here? Where is she?'_ I listened in on their conversation.

-"Do not come. Nohman is waiting for you?"-

_'Nohman?__ Oh, of course, Anubis.'_ I figured that he would be here waiting. But still, why would she warn us of that? I learned the answer soon enough.

-"Ken!"-

-"Hello Dingo."-

-"Nohman..."-

I could feel Dingo's anger. It was as if it was my own. And I believe it was that too.

-"Are you ready to die, Dingo?"-

-Not without bringing you along as a traveling companion."-

-"Dingo. I'm so glad. I'll be waiting for you"-

The communication cut off, leaving Dingo in a fit of rage. But underlining that rage was a sense of great worry. _'Don't worry, Dingo. I'll save her. We both will.'_

With this resolution, I continued onward, now more than ever to reach my goal.

___________________________

_AN: Sorry this came out shorter than you may have wanted._


	24. Aumaan?

Disclaimer: See chapter one

**_Silvace_****_ Atronach_**_- I'm going to try to. Not sure how yet, but I'll try._

**_chero666_**_-__ Hehe, tell me about it._

**_Aki Kitsune_**_- Thank you.__ I really did try to visualize it. I played the game repeatedly at that level just to try to understand it. But in the end, it's all just a blur. One second…and its over._

Chap. 23

_Doesn't this corridor end?_ The dark walls seemed to go on forever. It would seem that my new powers have also made me somewhat impatient. I was becoming too eager to face Anubis now. That was very different from my previous attitude in regards to him. I really should be more cautious now. The corridor finally ended and I found myself in a darkened corridor. The only illumination seemed to be coming down a path just to the right. Dim, red light. I moved toward it and I heard a distant roaring sound. That didn't seem to matter at first. But then I turned around the corner to the source of the light.

-"Holy $^&*!"-

I quickly pulled back just as a massive beam of red light flashed out. I had moved just in the nick of time. _'Seem to be doing that often.'_ The beam dimmed away and I peeked back over. It was another corridor, greatly illuminated by a red light at the end. A set of locks were shifting and a cylinder emerged out and glowed. I backed away as the crimson wave lashed out again. When it dissipated again, I looked back. There were no other entrances that could be seen and I wouldn't be able to search as long as that cannon was firing at me. I would have to take it out. But it was too far away for any of my attacks or techniques to work effectively, despite my power. As insane as it sounds, I would have to get in close and destroy it.

_Right.__ Totally insane..._

Zero Shift would only work properly on opponents and my shield would shatter upon the power of that cannon and my body along with it. There had to be some sort of defense against it. I looked around the corridor for some sort of protection, but there was none that I could see. The corridor cannon fired again and again I had to back away. But my eyes caught glimpse of something on the wall. Shielding plates were lined up throughout the entire energy path. They seemed to be unaffected by the destructive energy shears. Perhaps I could use it to my advantage.

I waited for the energy wave to fire again and I flew out toward the plate. I pried it off and began to move back to test it when the energy began powering up again. I didn't have time to hide in the corner so I had no choice, but to raise the plate up and hope that it worked.

_'Please work.'_

The beam came at me with all its fury and I held the plate tight. The energy poured, but the plate held fast and protected me from it. However, it shattered away as soon as the beam stopped. _'A one shot, huh?'_ It would be the same as my fight with Zakat. Moving to the wall, I snatched off another shielding piece and flew toward the source. The energy flared once again and lashed out, but only with the same results. However, I noticed that the force of the beam had pushed me back a good distance. Now it would take longer each time the beam fired. But regardless, I moved in, snatching up a shield plate each time the cannon fired. At last, I reached the end to the cannon turret. The energy was already built up so I had to shield myself from it once again. The wave of energy washed over me again, with the shield protecting me from harm. When the wave (and the shield) faded away, I soared at the cannon. According to the timing, I had approximately 30 seconds to take it out before it reached full charge.

_'Better move fast.'_

I was a slight distance away, so I started by firing a few energy blasts, covering the cannon with energy fire. However despite that, the cannon was relatively unaffected. Nevertheless, I continued firing until I reach the cannon. Quickly, I unsheathed my blade and hacked away. The damage showed immediately, but it didn't stop the cannon from powering up.

_10..._

I had to strike it hard and now. I didn't have time to reach a shield plate, so it was now or never.

_9...8..._

I flared up my power; the shimmering aura of Metatron surrounded me.

_7...6..._

_'Come on! Just a little more...'_

_5...4..._

The energy of the cannon was almost at full and the heat was beginning to scorch my armor.

_3...2..._

"Crescent...SLASH!!!!!!"

I spun around with all that I had and my blade flew at tremendous speed. The blade sliced straight into the cannon just as it reached full power. A gigantic explosion erupted in front of me and I was almost afraid that I had failed and this was my body disintegrating. But I had succeeded and the cannon burst to pieces, falling to the ground below. I gave a short sigh before I realized that there was a hole behind the cannon. _An entrance._ It was weird for an entrance to be behind an energy cannon, but I wasn't complaining. I took another breath before I moved into the darkness. It was brief and I found myself in another chamber. Landing in the midst, I stared ahead. A shimmering gate was before me.

_'The gate to Aumaan...'_

At that moment, a whooshing sound echoed and a figure landed beside me. It was Vic Viper.

"How did you get in here?"

Vic seemed to frown, "It's better if you don't know."

We both continued to stare at the gate in silence, knowing what was to happen now.

"So this is it." he said softly.

"Yeah. Aumaan...and Anubis."

Vic turned to look at me and it wasn't until then that I realized that I was frowning deeply.

"I'll tell you what, Jehuty." he started. "I'll give you ten minutes. Go and have a brotherly reunion."

I turned to him and gave a brief smile, "Thanks."

"Now, are you going to open the door or what?"

I blinked at the sharp remark before I realized what he was talking about. _'Oh, the gate.'_ Only I had the technique to open it. Nodding in response, I swooped back and up to the entrance where we had come in and stood toward the gate. It was time for the Vector Cannon technique to accomplish its purpose.

_"Encase my body with glowing power_

_And fill my veins with Metatron thunder."_

_"Show me the target of your rage_

_Let the spheres of light engage."_

_"Shine forth the fire of Armageddon_

_Unleash the power of the Vector Cannon!"_

The beam flashed out in all its brilliant power and collided with the gate. The two energies exploded together as the gate shimmered brighter and soon exploded wide open, revealing the entrance to Aumaan. _The ultimate fortress._

"Remember Jehuty. Ten minutes." Vic grinned from below.

I waved at him and let my wings carry me into the air and through the gate. When I emerged on the other side, I couldn't believe what had entered.

I was in a vast area. And by vast, I mean never-endingly vast. The entire space shimmered in green-blue light. Columns lined out the entire area, each column charged with Metatron. But as I flew in, I felt something wrong. For a place that was supposed to be the greatest destructive force ever, it felt marginally weak. Something was just wrong. I don't know what, but there was one thing I was sure of.

_This was not Aumaan._

But while I contemplated this, I stopped suddenly. I felt a presence. _A familiar one..._ Suddenly, the column beside me exploded, causing me to stumble forward through the air. As I struggled to regain control, a figure warped right in front of me.

Anubis.

_Anubis__?_ The figure before me stood posed to fight. But something felt wrong. Something more wrong that this place. The figure looked like Anubis, but something just felt...different. And where were his wings? Still, his resonance beat along with mine. And no one else could do that but Anubis. We stood there, facing each other briefly. I began to charge the energy within me to the full while he twirled his bladed staff and set it ready.

_Now we fight...as equals, brother._


	25. Trickery

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

**_chero666-_**_ Well someone sure getting into the spirit of things._

**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ You noticed that, huh?_

Chap. 24

How I waited for this. For our disputes to finally be settled in battle. Yet even before our blades clashed, I felt a great disturbance. Something that was definitely amiss. But I would worry about it later. Now I had to focus on the main problem. Anubis.

"Yaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

Our blades clashed in a surge of power and energy that crackled in the air. The blow was strong enough to cause us to rotate and switch positions. I pulled my arm back and swung forward as he reeled his own arm back and swung his lance. Again, sparks filled the air and again our positions switched. He spun his lance in his hand and stabbed it forward. I quickly flicked my arm, batting it away with my blade while raising my other arm and firing a tri-bolt. But my crimson rival quickly raised his arms and the bolts hit his energy shield. I dashed in with a stab of my own, but Anubis suddenly vanished from my sight.

-"Not this time, you don't."-

Just as Dingo suggested, I twisted my head and caught Anubis reappearing a good distance away. My eyes narrowed a second before I concentrated on the Zero Shift and warped toward him. I reappeared just on his left and my blade was raised high in the air.

_'Surprise.'___

I dropped the blade down hard, only for it to be deflected by his shield. I would have to add more power to my attacks. But now, it was his turn to attack as he slashed out at me in a wide arch. I ducked, but Anubis pulled back and the lance flashed back in another deadly arch. I raised my shield just in time to block and was nearly knocked aside. Recovering, I saw Anubis's hands glow and her fired bolt of his own; red in color. I dodged off to the side and Zero Shifted again, this time to the right. Seeing that I had to actually cause him damage, I summoned an aura of Metatron and let it guide my blade in my famed Crescent Slash. But Anubis had seen it coming and disappeared, warping away again. I looked at him from my attack, but he didn't do anything. He was just waiting.

_'That's strange.'_

I shook my head. _'He must be trying to trick me.'_ I summoned the Metatron Sphere and hurled it at him. Anubis warped again, but that was the intention. In addition to the Zero Shift, I was actually able to trace Anubis's own warps. I waited for the energy to cease before I warped toward him. The result was I appeared a split second after he did. Our blades clashed once more and I decided to go all out, attacking in a fury of blade slashes. Anubis countered with his own attacks, occasionally warping away with me tracing after him. After the fourth exchange, I shot back and Anubis warped away. Something was definitely wrong here. This battle is not what I expected. Anubis's strikes, although powerful, were not doing any real damage. I could have thanked the power obtained from the Zero Shift technique, but that should have only made me match power with him. It didn't feel that way. Also, he was acting differently. Throughout out fighting, he gave no taunts, no arrogant remarks, nothing. He just fought in silence. That in itself made me wonder.

_'Who...are you?'_

_Shhhhhrrreeeeeaaaaaaa__!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

A shrill cry shattered my ears and caught my attention. A blur shot by my right shoulder and straight at Anubis. _'Vic Viper?'_

"Vic, wait!"

But the armored falcon continued to shriek and his eyes flared with beams of energy. Anubis didn't move and the beams were deflected by his shield. Vic soared past Anubis and circled around, his glowing feathers following behind him. Vic turned and fired more beams, but the beams were deflected by the shield. Again, this confused me. Anubis wasn't fighting back. With his power, he could do far more than simply defend. Hell, he's fast enough to avoid the beams altogether. Vic swooped up and circled down. Spinning, he transformed into his warrior form and arched his arm back.

"Haaahhhhh!!!!!"

He shot his arm forward, releasing a powerful Gauntlet burst. Since he had mastered the technique, the blast moved swiftly and more forcefully than mine. Anubis turned to him, shield still raised, but the blast shattered it and sent him reeling back. I gasped in surprise. _'Whoa. Incredible.'_ Vic fired more Gauntlet bursts, each one smashing into Anubis and knocking him back with concessive force. Vic finally arched his arms out, revealing a set of talon-like claws. His wings opened and he charged right at Anubis.

"Now it ends, Anubis!"

Anubis recovered just in time to see the falcon warrior bear down right on him. Vic's claws connected with Anubis's midsection and Anubis staggered back in the air, Metatron filtering out into the air. I didn't believe it. Vic defeated Anubis. But something was still wrong. So much so that even Vic finally took notice.

"Wait. What is...?"

But that question was soon followed with an even bigger shock. A warp field materialized right behind Vic Viper. _Red wings...bladed staff...evil smirk...Anubis!_

Vic didn't even have time to react as Anubis grabbed one of Vic Viper's wings and flung him away. Moving with equal speed, Anubis dashed forward and caught up with Vic's still flying body and slammed his lance against him. Vic cried in pain, but Anubis was only getting started and pummeled Vic several times with his lance, each hit damaging Vic massively and injuring him. Anubis paused briefly to see his handiwork, but that was only until he gave Vic a straight blow, causing him to fly again. A demonic grin formed over his face and Anubis warped again, reappearing just opposite of Vic's flight path. Arching his arm back, Anubis waited for his approach and gave him one final smash, sending him upward.

"Vic! Leo!"

Vic didn't answer. His body was wracked with injuries and damage. His wings had been torn off and his body was scarred deeply across the chest. _Anubis__ will pay...wait a minute? _If that was Anubis, then who had I been fighting? I turned back to the one that was scarred from Vic Viper's attack. His body was floating backward with Metatron still etching out of his body.

"Who are you?"

"A dummy."

Anubis warped back into view beside me, "This creature is nothing more that a copy of me. And a very poor one at."

I turned to look back and forth between the two. Despite the lack of wings, they looked exactly alike. Even the Metatron was in synch together. _A spurious._ But who would be crazy enough to fight me as a distraction? Even if it is a copy, the powers were still unique only to the runner, Nohman.

-"Ken is in the frame?"-

"WHAT?!"

Anubis smirked, "Ah, I see that you found out. What's the matter? Don't you like surprises, Jehuty? Hahahahahaha!!!!"

Now he had gone too far. Vic, Leo, Ken, even his own clone; he just discards them like they're nothing. My rage fueled my power and I flared in a bright blue aura.

"Damn you!!!!!!!"

I charged, ready to vent my anger and rage right up Anubis's face. He was going to pay for this! He was going to pay for all of it!!!!

And that when all hell broke loose...


	26. Gateway to Destruction

Disclaimer: See chapter one

**_Aki Kitsune-_**_ Tell me about it. It took me a nearly an hour in one fight just to defeat him( (I think). Bottom line, it does suck._

**_chero666-_**_ Commentator sounds about right. Heh._

Chap. 25

_Shaking...?_ That's what halted my charge on Anubis. Anubis raised his hands and outstretched his wings, releasing vast amounts of Metatron into the sky. My head suddenly lifted after hearing the sound of a loud cracking noise. The ceiling high above us shattered and cracked, sending down intense amounts of searing light down. The entire chamber rumbled and shook as more cracks appeared above us

"Behold!" Anubis crackled. "This is the power of Aumaan! The power of the gods!!!!!"

The ceiling cracked further and spikes of light poured down further, illuminating the entire chamber area.

"What...is....this?"

"Aumaan..."

I turned to the sound of the voice. It sounded...it was Anubis. No…His double. The clone was still alive, although he was floating limp in the air.

"Gate...Aumaan...opening...P...Phobos..."

_Phobos__?__ The moon of Mars was Aumaan?_ I couldn't believe it. Anubis had turned an entire moon into the dark fortress. It was incredible, and yet impossible. But given Anubis's power and drive, it was well within his power. But if this was a direct gate, then the energy itself would rip apart the area it was opening in. _Oh, no? Vascillia._

"Stop this. You're going to destroy Vascillia!"

Anubis looked back at me and folded his arms and wings. "Vascillia?" he asked. He then laughed, "Forget Vascillia! I am going to start by destroying ALL OF MARS!!!!!!!!!!!"

More energy flooded in, causing me to cover my eyes behind the shield. Anubis opened his wings and beat them toward me once, sending a massive surge of energy at me. It was too much for me to handle, even with the shield up and the energy tore at my very body.

"Guuuuuaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The shield ripped apart and my armor shortly after. Metallic parts flashed off of my body like an orange being peeled. I arched back in sheer pain, but I held myself enough to prevent me from flying back. My eyes were now open to the air and I pulled myself together to glare at my arch-nemesis.

"Power and energy are wills of their own. Since the dawn of time, power has willed many thing from civilization to civilization. So what will does the power of Metatron call for all of us?"

His eyes lit in an insane light, "Destruction! Destruction to end all!"

His head shot up to the light once more and his arms opened, embracing the light like some sort of dark priest.

**_"The universe and all life within it are bringing their own end!"_**

Suddenly, another force emerged. _The gate...it's opening!_ Vic Viper's battered body was pulled in along with the second Anubis's injured body. As they all lifted before me, Anubis continued; his own body ascending as well.

"Look! This is the will of Metatron. And there's nothing you can do about it, brother! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!"

As they all flew up at me, I thought about it. My body was severely injured. I didn't know if I could even fight in this condition. My shield was gone and given the damage to my armor, I wouldn't be able to stand direct blow from Anubis. _But...I still felt the power._ Zero Shift was still active within me. _But would that be enough?_

"Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

-"Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"-

_Huh? _That has never happened before. Me and Dingo having the exact same thought. Our joining must be more connected than I thought. It told me...it would be enough. We didn't care if we had lost all our body parts. As long as we can fight, we will. And with that united cry, I soared into the gate...

Light blinded me for a second before it cleared. I found myself in an orange vortex. Light streaked around me for as far as I could see. Looking back for a moment, I saw that I was now in orbit of Mars. The fiery planet was slowly descending away. Looking around, I saw Vic Viper and Anubis's clone still drifting within the gate. They looked unconscious, so I couldn't tell if they were dead or not. But they would have to wait. I couldn't help them now. Not until I deal with one major detail.

"Anubis!!!"

Anubis was still flying up through the gate, but he stopped and looked down to face me.

"Jehuty, Jehuty." he smiled evilly. "When will you learn that you do not stand a chance against me? Do you really want to die by my hand?"

My blade unsheathed, "I will not die. Not before you...brother."

He arched his head back in laughter, "Hahahaha!!! Are you serious? In the condition you're in, you wouldn't last two seconds. Do you really seek death that badly?"

I chose not to respond to him and merely leveled my blade. He shook his head disapprovingly as he pulled out his lance and pointed its blade at me.

"Very well. Come on, Jehuty!"

Anubis suddenly shifted and his entire body turned to darkness, fading into the gate stream. I would have to be careful here. _Extremely careful._ I shifted and flew in on him. Anubis didn't move and I slashed out, but nothing. No damage, not even impact.

"What?!"

"Hahaha!" he laughed before sliding away into the stream and distancing himself from me. He then re-materialized and his body began to surge with light. I stretched my arm out to fire in or to disturb his attack, but no energy emerged out of my hand. _'I must be more hurt than I thought.'_ Looking back at Anubis, a ball of plasma-looking energy formed within his body. _'Uh, oh.'_

**KKkkkkppooowwww****!!!**

The energy ball surged toward me and I dashed away. If that thing hits me, I'll be vaporized. I continued to fly away, trying to get the energy to dissipate before it hit me. It finally did after a long while, but by that time, Anubis was gone again.

"Show yourself, you coward!"

A familiar laughter echoed behind me and I turned to see...

"Here I am."

Anubis had warped right behind me. On impulse, I slashed out furiously, but my blade hit nothing. It just passed through him like air. 'What kind of power is this?'

The shadowy master simply grinned at my confusion and warped away again. Reaching a distance, his body began to charge again. _'No way.__ Not again.'_ Summoning my own Zero Shift power, I warped right at him and appeared just as he continued to charge his power.

"Now I've got you."

Even he seemed a little surprised as my blade come down open him, slashing his shoulder. However, this interrupted his energy summon and allowed him to unsheathe his staff. As I brought my blade back in attack, Anubis slashed forward and our attacks caused a powerful surge of force. I was amazed by it, but even more so because I was able to attack like that. I attacked again and Anubis did likewise. The energy clash was even bigger than before, causing me to fall back. I shook myself out of it and tried to attack again, but Anubis went into shadow mode again and warped. When he materialized, I waited for him to charge his Metatron Sphere again, but rather he drifted off to the side. His hand waved off before him and several beams of red energy curved out at me. I saw this technique before.

It was the same one used on Inhert...

The red veins of energy twisted around and came directly at me.  Again, I flew to avoid them, but they were everywhere. And Anubis was just sitting there, smirking at me. I wish I could wipe that off his face. _Perhaps I could kill two birds in one stone._

I shifted through the beams and straight at Anubis once again. But I had failed to notice that he had been gathering energy within himself while he was moving away. And he had been waiting for me to shift. Waiting so that he can...

"You're mine."

He released the energy, sending it surging through his arms and into the lance. He slashed out in a big arch, nearly cutting my head off. I was about to counter, but his attack wasn't finished and he went into another slash, this time vertical. Again, I dodged...just barely. I tried to back away, but Anubis in for a final slash. I couldn't avoid, dodge, or deflect it, leaving only one thing.

_Taking it..._

**"Gaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"******

The fiery blade ripped right across my chest and I was propelled away. As I spun out of control, I grasped my chest. An angry red gash was streaked across my chest and body. I tried to force the pain out of my mind as I regained control of myself. Shaking in pain, I looked up to Anubis again, only to find what I saw very terrifying.

_Another plasma sphere flying right at me..._


	27. Triumph or Die

Disclaimer: See chapter one

**_ Aki Kitsune_**_- (As Jehuty) I won't let you down._

**_chero666_**_-__ I think it's a brother thing._

**_Silvace_****_ Atronach_**_- Don't worry. I'm going to try and stretch this out as long a possible. But yeah, it's almost over. sigh_

Chap. 26

**Kssshhhhhhhhhpooooowwwwwwwwww****!!!!!!!!!!**

-"MOVE!!!!!"-

With everything I had, I burst away to the side a nanosecond before the Plasma Sphere could hit me. It continued to follow and I flew away until it dissipated. I've had close calls, but that was death knocking on the door there. Speaking of death, I looked around for Anubis. He was gone, which indicated that he had warped again. _But where?_

_'There!'_

His shadowy form suddenly appeared beside me and I was about to strike when I stopped. _'No good. I can't hit him like that.'_ He grinned at my reluctance just before he warped away, leaving me with nothing.

"Are you scared, Jehuty?" his voice crackled out of nowhere. "Do you now realize that you can't beat me?!"

I didn't respond. I was too busy looking for his presence. I couldn't let his taunting get to me, no matter how true it may be at the moment. My body was incredibly strained from the dodge and I couldn't recover as fast as I could before.  I would have to force him to make a mistake.

"Staying silent? Not for long!"

I turned to my right to see Anubis fully appear and charging his plasma sphere. I shot my arm forward to fire, but it was then that I remembered that I had lost that ability. With that hesitation, he was able to fire the sphere and the fiery ball came right at me. _'I'm getting tired of this. Shift!'_

The ball followed me only briefly before my body warped away from it, leaving it far behind and putting me right above and behind Anubis. He simply looked up at me with disinterest and unsheathed his bladed staff.

"Come on."

I didn't hesitate this time. My blade unhooked and I charged. The blade swooped through the air and connected, but only with his weapon. He held me back with one arm briefly before he pulled back and slashed horizontally. I managed to pull back in order to meet the slash, but the force of power was enough to push me away.

"You're not strong enough to beat me." he mocked as he pointed his staff at me. "Face it, YOU CAN'T WIN!!!!!"

That was it. That was the opening I needed. During his ranting and raving, he had forgotten that his Plasma Sphere was still active and flying. And since my body was now directly on the opposite side, that means...

**KAAPPPOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!**

The sphere hit his back and exploded in a mess of fire. But within it, Anubis was completely unfazed.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you?"

But I was no longer there. Rather, I had shifted again, right next to his left side.

"That's why there's a Plan B."

The shock on his face was almost as gratifying at the pain off his face when my blade ripped right across his side. Anubis roared and slashed back, but I blocked the blow. Due to the injury, it wasn't enough to push me away and I moved in to attack. But his body turned to shadow and I again hit empty space.

"Good."

I half-growled, "Fight me, you coward!"

All I heard was chuckling, "Coward am I? I'm merely taking the time to enjoy this. You know, painting a picture, making a memory, as humans would put it."

Now he was really pissing me off. So much so that I didn't sense his presence behind me as he materialized into form. I turned around too late as his lance carried right at me. My hand arose, but the block never came and his lance ripped across my chest.

"Arrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"

Pain surged through my entire body like Metatron lightning. I couldn't think straight due to it and my body soared backward, spinning around like a rag doll in a storm. My eyes slowly focused and I saw the bodies of Vic Viper and the Anubis clone. _'Vic...Leo...Ken...I...get up...now!'_

I forced my body upward and still. A red gash was right across my chest and body, but I didn't care. I focused off on the pain and onto the battle, which unfortunately wasn't over yet. Largely because of the red beams of energy that were coming at me.

_'Move!'___

I jerked my body back, moving to outrun the deadly beams as they traced across the landscape in pursuit. My wings help me outrun the first group, but a few beams was still on me.

"And now you run." Anubis taunted once again. "Doesn't that make you a coward now? Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!"

_'Focus...'_ The beams almost caught me when I suddenly stopped and propelled myself in another direction. It was risky, but it work and the beam floated off into nothing. Glancing at Anubis, my body shimmered blue and gathered the Metatron within. At the same time, he called forth his Plasma Sphere. I raised my hand and made it seem as if I was calling the Metatron Sphere. At the same time, he unleashed his own energy right at me. As soon as it had gotten far enough, I stopped myself, quickly dashed off to the side and shifted right on Anubis, head on.

"Hmph."

His lance came up a split second before my blade could reach his head and blocked. I ignored it, pulled back, and attacked again. Again he blocked and again I struck. I continued my aggressive assault and he blocked them all. Finally, he had enough and back-lashed, pushing me back once more.

"Oh please. What was...?"

He didn't finish, because I had warped again and attacked. He was almost caught off guard, but his blade connected with mine. I pulled back and attacked again and again, with him continuing to block my blows. I savagely struck once more, but it only hit shadow as he warped away. I didn't move from my position and simply focused. The pain in my body hadn't dulled, but I couldn't let that stop me. Not if this was to work.

"My, someone's upset."

Bingo! I directed my attention to voice and saw Anubis's dark body materialize. He began to summon his Plasma Sphere once more, but he would never use it. I shifted right at him. Another risk, I knew. But at this point, I didn't have a choice. He saw me appear but he couldn't stop his technique and fired. But at the range I was at, avoiding the sphere was a simple sidestep and it harmlessly past me by. Blade unsheathed once more, I attacked. Anubis growled slightly as he was forced to bring his staff up to block. Again I attacked and again he defended. I shot back and made it look as though I was going to attack again, but as soon as he raised it to counter, I shifted away. His blade was now in dead air. Seeing this, I warped again, now toward him and lunged once more. He now cursed loudly as he blocked once more.

"You foolish...!"

I attacked and attacked and attacked. See, there were a couple of things I had learned from this fight. One, while Anubis may be powerful, he lacked the necessary skills to fight me face to face. He's never fought anyone who has lasted this long, certainly not one that has confronted him head on and most definitely not against anyone that had injured him, which means that my earlier strike on him and crippled him enough for me to take him on in close range. He would defend because that was his style, but due to my repeated attacks, the injury would certainly have drained him a great deal. His warping and his control in this terrain have given him the advantage, but then there's fact two. He gloats too much. That's leaves him open a lot more to my attacks. Three, my own control. He had been using his taunts to make me lose control and get angry enough for him to take control. I had to stay calm and focus and wear him out. Four, his vanity. Because of my weakened state, he could have killed me long ago. But he believes in his power so much that it has blinded him to one important fact.

_We are twin brothers..._

Anubis growled and warped away. I waited for him to reappear. Waited for him to show himself. Waited until...

"Now you die..."

I didn't allow him to finish as I was in warp by the time he was halfway through his sentence. He was so surprised that he didn't have time to warp and instinctively raised his shield. That would cost him, for I summoned my power and the blue aura shimmered around me. Anubis had been pushed just enough and his crimson face turned into surprise again as I unleashed my Crescent Slash. The shield shattered and Anubis was pushed back, dazed. My body flared with pain from the attack, but he was open. I had to...

-"Go now!"-

I swiftly moved toward the down Anubis and his body began to blacken again. 'No! I won't let you!'

_Shhhhhkkkkkk__!!!!!!!_

His body returned to normal color as he gasped at what I had done. My blade had gotten to him just before he could go into full shadow form. Now my blade was impaled in his chest. He slowly looked down and surprise turned to shock. I pulled the blade out and hovered back. He was finished and we both knew it.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

In a show of intense fury and lost temper, he reeled back his arm and reeled his staff at me. I narrowed my eyes and ducked the slash, causing him to clumsily fly past me. My body shimmered with energy again and when he turned I was already in full spin of my Crescent Slash.

Now it's over...


	28. Angel of Life : Horseman of Death

Disclaimer: See chapter one

**_chero666-_**_ Ha!_

**_Aki Kisune-_**_ Yeah. But all good things…_

Chap. 27

The slash ripped hard across his body. The blade itself may have been dull, but the power was more than enough. Anubis's scream nearly shattered my ears as he flew backward into the gate stream. As he spun around in the void helpless, Metatron flew out of his body like a spring. I was engulfed with it briefly before I looked over and back. There, still floating in the stream was Vic Viper as well as the Anubis clone. With newfound energy, I swooped at them and grabbed hold. At that moment, I felt the energy around beginning to change.

_'The gate is closing.'_

True enough, the orange streaks began to fade away and soon I was left in the darkness of space. Well, not complete darkness. Looking forward, my body pulsed with various emotions as I saw the massive grey structure before me. Points of technology were scattered across a massive rocky structure. But I didn't need to guess to know what I was looking at. It was the moon of Phobos. _'No, not Phobos anymore. Aumaan.'_

Fear seized at me for but a moment before I moved closer to the rocky moon. I saw an empty spot and decided to settle down there. Tentatively, I placed the unconscious, injured body of Vic Viper down and then lowered down the second Anubis just as well. And it was then that I took notice of my arms. They were completely white, with my veins of Metatron still flowing through them. I then stood up straight and saw my entire body. It was void of all my usual sapphire armor, leaving a pale white under-armor of sort. It a way, I was...well...naked. That thought was soon cancelled when I heard Dingo speaking with someone. According to my senses, it was coming from far away in space. But I paid little attention at the moment. Mostly because my senses also picked up a not-so-distant whine coming from above. Gazing up, I noticed a dark object flying straight down and suddenly crash heavily on the rocky plain. The object trench through the ground and finally stopped, creating a large crater. Looking over, I saw a sight I had wished for a long while.

_'Well look who decided to drop in.'_

It was Anubis. Or at least what was left of him. His body was horrendously torn, twisted and battered. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for him. He was after all my flesh and metatron. Given his current condition, he wasn't much of a threat any longer.

"You're through Anubis. It's all over."

Despite his injuries, he managed to grin, "You're right about that part, Jehuty."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. On impulse, I backed away and the ground cracked open underneath him. Anubis's body floated down into the crack, which shone with bright light.

"Aumaan! Hear my call!"

His body soon disappeared into the light. I could feel the sheer force and power emanating from the opening. Something was down there. Something that felt more powerful than I've ever sensed before. I was about to enter in pursuit, but my senses alerted me once again. Dingo...

-"Space constriction...It can destroy the entire solar system. Please stop it."-

My focus on my runner conversation was a little off, but I felt his emotions clearly. He was very determined about something.

-"Free Mars."-

-"I swear."-

His conversation then switched over to Ken, who was still within the second Anubis.

-"If I die, please revive me again."-

Heh. He seems lighthearted about it. But not as much so as Ken.

-"You're not going to die."-

More than the emotions I heard from her voice, I can feel the emotions of my runner. It confirmed what I suspected all along. I suppose...it would make since...considered the frame warrior she was a part of. But that had to be put to the side. Largely because I heard something else coming. Looking off to the left now, I saw several objects fly toward me. They were all identical and all bearing the resemblance of someone I was not in the mood of seeing.

"Nephtis?"

Indeed it was her, or rather seven of her. _'Seven Nephtis? What kind of nightmare is this?!'_ I flew up in the space above as they continued their approach. Each one of them let their arms out wide in attack formation and began to shimmer and glow.

"Jehuty..."

They all shot at me like a stream of flaming comets. I sidestepped the first two and dodged the remaining five. The last two quickly turned and charged to attack. The first one sliced her arm forward, but I managed to dodge. The second came up from behind soon after, but I dodged it again. The other five managed to turn around and attack, but I dodged all of their attacks. 'What the heck?' Even in my second form, I was never this fast. It was as though the Nephtises were all moving in slow motion. One managed to finally lock in a direct blow, but she missed. How you may ask? Zero Shift. I had warped a second before the slash could even connect. I had warped out of the group and came out behind them. The Nephtis clones all turned at me and came in to attack again.

"....."

Rather than move away, I shot right into the advancing throng. My blade, now an ivory-white blade, unlatched and I slashed at the first one. Nephtis shot off to the side to dodge, but her speed was far too slow and my blade connected. But what surprised me was that the blade didn't just injure her, it went right through her and out on the other end. I still flew across as Nephtis exploded behind. I looked at my blade. _'What...? One slice?'_ I knew I was powerful, but this was far beyond what I even believed. What kind of power would destroy a creature like Nephtis in on single stroke? Apparently, it was power I now possessed. Shaking away my thoughts, I focused on the remaining six who were charging at me once again. Two of them split off to the side and fired energy bolts. I almost raised my shied, but for some reason, I felt compelled not to. It was strange. It was as though something was telling me that their attacks weren't a threat. And my feeling was soon justify as the beam came and suddenly stopped. They had hit some sort of secondary shield that was around my body.

_'What has happened to me?'_

The lead four shot at me in a fierce attack. The first one attack, but as before, it was far too slow and I evaded it easily. The other three attacked simultaneously, but they hit dead space as I warped once again. Raising my hand, I summoned my Metatron Sphere. It grew faster than ever before and was now glowing in pure white energy. The Nephtises turned just as I let it fly at the group. They all scattered, but not soon enough for one as it was obliterated. But that's not all. The resulting shockwave was intense enough to rip across the two nearest retreating Nephtises and destroy them too. I was stunned.

_'Incredible. Three in one shot.'_

Unfortunately, my expression let the last two close in on me. I automatically began to charge my body, readying for the Crescent Slash. But the power of my charge alone struck the last two and wiped them out in an instant. I merely blinked. I didn't even attack. My very energy alone was a weapon now. _'How did this happen? Is it...because I'm on Aumaan.'_ Has the fortress somehow enhanced my powers beyond anything that even exists? It didn't sound so farfetched, considering that Aumaan was initially design for either him or...

_'Anubis!'_

I quickly turned to the crack were Anubis had fallen in. I stood briefly before the lit entrance before I dove right it. Light was everywhere. It reflected of my pale body and covered the entire cavern. But it was more than light. The energy of Metatron was literally in the air. My senses were flooded with the incredible power that filled my very veins. The cavern finally ended and I found myself in the core of the moon. It was a gigantic spherical shape. Hexagons cracked off the surrounding walls and flew out. In the center, several beams of energy swarmed from top to bottom, meeting in the middle in a small ball of concentrated energy. It was here where I sensed the greatest surge of Metatron. It almost seemed like a living being. But that was nothing compared to what was hovering before it.

_'Anubis...'_

Anubis floated before the sphere with his arms outstretched. His body had both regenerated and transformed. He was bleached in white, much like me except that he seemed paler. His body itself had thinned down like a skeleton. His usual wings were gone, replaced with jittering hexagons that floated behind him like a white cape. And finally, his eyes were glowing in deadly green.  All of this made look just as he had always been described as.

_He had become Death incarnate..._

"You are too late, Jehuty." he spoke in a shadowy voice. He looked up at me with a death glare and smiled. "Aumaan has chosen me. We are now one body...one voice...one purpose." His smile broadened, "Do you see, Jehuty? I have become Metatron in its purest form."

I could indeed feel it. His power could be felt even by me in overwhelming waves. If what he said was true, then this was going to be the fight of my life.

**_"Destruction! Soon all will drink in the sweet taste of oblivion!!!!!"_**

Now that I was in Aumaan, the curse that was placed upon me could awaken at any moment. Either my curse or this new incarnation of Anubis could destroy me.

-"I'm not dying yet."-

Dingo is right. I've come too far to stop now. _Ken, Vic, Leo, Ardjet..._they were all relying on me to bring Anubis and Aumaan down. And I won't fail them now. If the curse does come into effect, then at least I can destroy Aumaan. Only I had the power to stop this insanity. With this certainty, I charged myself for my final battle.

"I'm not dying yet."


	29. Equilibrium

Disclaimer: See chapter one

_chero666-__ Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

_Mimic12355- I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying, I'm hereeeee._

_Aki Kitsune- The battle of the gods has begun! But which side will prevail?! Mhahahahahaha!!!!!!!!_

Chap. 28

_This was it. This was the final battle._

I have faced various opponents, overcome difficult obstacles, suffered many losses and gained mew allies. All of which has led up to this singular moment. Jehuty verses Anubis. Brother against brother. Life and Death at odds with each other. This wouldn't be like the other battles I've fought. This one will decide…everything. If Anubis wins, life dies. I couldn't let that happen. And he would do anything to complete his twisted obsession. So that only left one thing now.

_In the end, there can be only one…_

Time seemed frozen between us and in the moment I stared at him, a new awareness dawned on me. I was no longer looking at Anubis with fear or anger. He was my rival now. _My equal._ All that was left is to see who moves first.

_Time started…Space compressed…_

I don't think either of us expected to shift at the very same moment and at each other. But that's what happened. And in the second later, we clashed…heavily.

**_SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

The energy shockwave ripped through our bodies and rippled throughout the entire area of Aumann. Our blades were locked tight as we began circling one another, trying to break loose and attack the other. After spinning for a few minutes, we finally separated, only to attack again and clash once more, with another shockwave ripping out. We broke the lock once again and I moved in to lunge again, but Anubis decided to change tactics and warp away. I stopped in my charge and traced the direction of the shift. He had moved far off near the energy strands in the center of Aumaan.

_'Not so easy anymore, is it Anubis?'_

I made ready to warp in pursuit, but he had warped again just as I had. I would up in the position he was while he was in the place I formerly stood. I turned back to see his evilly smiling face.

"He…hehehehe….hehehehehehe…"

I didn't know if he was taunting me or if he had completely lost his mind. I warped at him again, only to have him warp again, switching places once more.

"Hehe…hahahahahaha…hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!"

I was beginning to become incensed by his behavior, but stopped to realize that he was probably just trying to goad me into getting angry. If that happened, he might find an opening and attack. But even if he did, that wasn't a smart plan. Given my current power, losing control would only put me in a position the damage Aumaan. Surely he wouldn't want that. I opted to conclude that he had in fact lost his mind, but all the same, I wouldn't give in to my anger. My wings flared to life and I soared at Anubis this time. Anubis continued to stand there and laugh, but that stopped when I fired a couple of energy blasts at him. Anubis held his arms forward and called up his shield to defend. I continued on until I was close enough and then slashed down in force. But rather than keep his shield up, Anubis dropped it and summoned his lance, clashing with me once more. Another space-shattering shockwave shot out as a result.

"Hehehehehehehehe…Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

_Okay. Now he was seriously pissing me off with that._

"What's so funny, Anubis?"

Anubis stopped laughing briefly, "You. Trying to believe in yourself. Believing that you can actually defeat me."

Suddenly, he struck back, causing me to spin backward in the vacuum. I pulled myself upright, but he was gone from sight.

"My dear twin brother. You know that you will die here. We both do. Aumaan is not just a weapon. It is a force of the cosmos. A force _I_ am a part of."

I soon caught his energy and found him right behind me. I began to raise my blade in attack, but his hand was faster and it struck my throat and held fast. Shearing energy tore through my body racking me with pain.

"Guuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

"Its power floods me; fill me with indescribable energy. You are of no consequence to me. You, these worlds, these people, they are nothing to me! I am pure, unstoppable power!!!!!!!!!!"

_'I…have…heard…enough!'_

My arms suddenly shot up, breaking his grip on my neck. He was certainly surprise by it and I pushed him back forcefully. Anubis flew back a bit and his eyes widened as I came at him. His lance emerged and he quickly lifted it to block. I pulled back and attacked again, but he shifted once more. I sensed where he was going and began to summon my Metatron Sphere technique. The now white energy surged through my both and out into my palm, growing every second. Meanwhile Anubis had reappeared and began gather his own dark power for his Plasma Burst. The Sphere finished collecting power and I launched it forward in a blast. At the same moment, Anubis launched his own attack and the two energies collided with terrific force. The light from the explosion alone caused me to cover my eyes. The light soon began to fade and I began looking around for Anubis again. He was missing once more. I would like to think that the explosion killed him, but I knew better than that. That was wishful thinking on my part. However, something else occupied my mind. Something I didn't see until the light had cleared more. Something very bad.

_A second Plasma Burst…right on me.___

I couldn't raise a shield fast enough to defend and I was hit full force. The blast hurled me to the far wall of Aumann and I slammed hard against it. At that point, Anubis appeared into view, directly above me.

"And it ends now!"

He raised his arm and a red spark flashed forth. Shooting it downward, red beams of energy veined their way at me. The beams all hit me and dust shot up from the impact. I could hear Anubis's laughter from above.

"Mhahahahahahaha!!!! You could never win!"

_'That's what you think.'_

Anubis's face soon consorted with shock as I arose from the smoke and dust. I was hurt, yes. But not as bad as it could have been. The extra shield I had protected me fro taking any serious damage from his Plasma Burst as well as deflect his Vein Beams completely.

"Don't get so excited Anubis. Because this battle…is far from over."

In response to his earlier attack, I dashed to the side and summoned my Wave Beams. In frustrated anger, he warped away once again, but I was right on him. His lance and my blade clashed once again and I pressed my attack. But Anubis wasn't going down easily and he struck back, with equal ferocity. But I knew he realized that I would no longer be a pushover. He would have to fight me with everything he's got.

_And I will do no less…_


	30. Scale

Disclaimer: See chapter one

.

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.

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_Aki Kitsune- Of course I do. Writing about insane villains is the coolest. Total whack-jobs who want to blow up the universe for giggles is always fun._

_._

_Mimic12355- And here it is!_

_._

_FinalSaber__- Really?__ I never thought of that. Hmmm. I've got to try that. And you're right. It is justice. (Annihilate! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!!!)_

_._

_chero666-__ That's okay. Your intentions are enough for me to smile._

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Chap. 29

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I stood away in the air, facing down my death-pale nemesis. The fact that he wasn't attacking indicated that he was now hesitant to attack me. That has to have been a first for him.

.

"What's the matter, Anubis?" I taunted for a change.

.

Anubis narrowed his eyes and his wings spread out everywhere. Shortly afterward, he charged forward with his lance reared back for attack. However despite that, his speed was still lacking and I was able to meet his blow easily. The clashed ripped through the area, despite it being weak and Anubis began to push against me, shoving me toward the wall. My own wings ignited as I began to push back and we wound up struggling against each other. The pressure between us increased as we tried to force the other back. Suddenly he smiled...

.

"Okay, you win."

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Anubis suddenly shifted, causing me to fly off due to the continued energy. I rushed straight toward the wall on the other end and my hands smashed into the wall hard in order to stop. The parts of the wall crumbled on impact, but I looked back to look for Anubis.

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"Raaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!"

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I turned to the right to see Anubis fire his Plasma Burst. _Correction_, his Dual Plasma Burst. Two blobs of orange energy came right at me in a full rush. I shot upward to evade, but as usual the energy followed me. However, I had gotten far enough to shift toward their owner. Anubis.

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"Haaa!"

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Blade and blade clashed, resulting in both of us being pushed away forcefully. I charged in, but shot upward at the last moment when I realized that the plasma energy was nearly upon me. The energy smashed into Anubis, but he laughed it off.

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"What was that? Are you getting desperate?"

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"Hardly."

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I knew that Anubis couldn't be hurt by his own attack, but it did serve well enough to distract him long enough for me to summon a full-powered Metatron Sphere. Anubis looked up through the mist of fire just in time to see me launch it. But his face remained as it was.

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"Oh, come on. Give me something new, bro."

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Anubis warped as well, getting out of the path of the Sphere and causing it to explode in the far end. He reappeared beside me and spun his lance in attack. I brought mine up in defense, but the strength of the twirling blade lance knocked me back. I shook it off, but he hadn't finished and pressed the attack, his lance still spinning as he bashed in again. _This was a change. Now he's being aggressive._ Anubis hammered in on me further, striking with heavy blows. I couldn't manage to fight back because he came on me relentlessly. I was soon pushed back against the wall of Aumaan where he continued his vicious attacks, bending my arms and blade inward.

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"Die! Die! Die!! DIE!!!!!!!!"

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I had to get out before he stabbed in. If he did, I would be impaled against the wall. And as soon as I thought that, his arm reared back, pointing the staff forward.

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_'Oh, no!'_

___._

In a panic, I blasted off to the left, but it was not enough and the lance stabbed right through my shoulder.

.

**"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

******.**

I grabbed hold of the weapon, desperately trying to pry it out. Metatron spilled out into the air from across his staff and he hovered before me, smiling.

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"Hehehehe. You lose, Jehuty."

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He centered his arm and body inward, summoning his Dual Plasma Burst once more. _'He's going to fire at point-blank range!'_ At that range, I would be annihilated! I grabbed the staff and pulled even harder, trying to get the weapon out before Anubis blasted me into oblivion. The energy increased and I could feel the sheer heat from the energy. The staff's grip began to loosen, but it was still in tight.

.

-"GET OUT NOW!!!!!"-

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"IT'S OVER JEHUTY!!!"

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_'It's now or never!'_

_._

"RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

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The light sheered in my face as he fired the destructive energy. At the same time, I ripped the lance out of the wall and shifted far to the right. The wall exploded and the shards of the wall blew up everywhere. Anubis stood in the midst of the dust and turned to look up at me.

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"You just refuse to die, don't you?"

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I hovered high and away, looking back at Anubis. His lance was still inside my shoulder. Still holding the weapon, I tore the weapon out, despite the intense pain of doing so and I held the bloodied weapon in my grasp. Anubis began to smile again, but that was until I hurled his weapon back at him, almost taking his head off and causing it to become stuck in the wall. But I hadn't totally missed. Not with that now-fresh line on his face.

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"You dare!"

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Pulling out his lance, he shifted at me and struck out with an overhead strike. I met the clash, but not with much force as I could have. The injury in my opposite arm was diverting my focus. Using it to his advantage, he locked his blade with mine and fell back, causing me to be flung by the momentum. I soared through the air and right into the wall once again. _'This is becoming a bad habit.'_ Anubis had disappeared once again, but I didn't wait for him to reappear. I shifted toward the center of Aumaan. When I arrived, I saw him reappear right above where I was. Waving my arm (the bad one unfortunately), I let out a stream of Wave Beams at him. Anubis heard the attack and let loose his own Vein Beams. The energy beams flew throughout the entire place, some hitting the other and negating each other while the rest hit the walls around us. I dodged away from the beam and shifted to Anubis again, only to find him mirroring my actions, shifting toward me.

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_-'This is going to hurt.'-_

_._

There wasn't a blow as powerful as the one we had created right there. By shifting toward each other in attack, the counter-force of the attack was tremendous, virtually ripping both of us as well as the whole of Aumaan. I'm not sure how, but we continued to hold the lock, beside the obvious pain that ripped through both of us. Anubis decided to push away, but I couldn't let him. I could allow him to gain a foothold. I reared my arm back and struck, much to my pain. But I was right in assuming that Anubis was hurt as well. But I had to keep up. I had to fight him. Outlast him. Stop him now. My attacks pressed and it was Anubis this time who was forced against the wall. I was giving it everything I had; going past my pain and fatigue to summon the strength I needed.

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_'Come on!'_

_._

Anubis, seeing his retreated position, struck forward, stopping my advance and causing me to falter back. Anubis rushed at me and I came back. We clashed, but rather than locking, we rotated, spinning around and switching positions. I attacked and he returned it, causing us to twirl again. This went on several times, each of us switching positions and moving through Aumaan. Occasional, we would shift away in another part, but then we'd just continue from there. We were at our final stretch here. Our power and strength were at its max. Now it was just a matter of who slipped up first.

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I just had to make sure that it wasn't me...


	31. Final Strike

Disclaimer: See chapter one

_Mimic12355- Well if liked that, then you'll enjoy this._

_Aki Kitsune- I tried to get them to be as even as possible. And yeah, Jehuty does take more of a beating in this._

__

_chero__ 666- Hahahahahahaha!!!_

__

_Videogame Fan- Have to make the fight look good, right?_

Chap. 30

**_Kapow_****_!!!!!! Shrrrkkkkkkkkkk!!!!! Kkkssssssssssshhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

Our battle continued… I have forgotten how long we have been at this. What is a span of a few minutes felt like eternity to me. The pain and fatigue I felt before was gone, replaced by the driving desire to defeat Anubis. But I knew I was tiring. We both were.

**_Kssssssssshhhhhhhh_******

As our weapons crossed, the surge from the strike rattled through me harder than before. _'He's pressing it; going all out now in using full force.'_ That proved that he was low on strength. But the fact that I felt it as such proved that I was too. I pushed it aside and backlashed against his lance. Anubis parried, but it came out sloppily and my blade nicked him in the leg. Frustrated, he retaliated by striking back with the other end of the lance, smashing it right into my face.

"Gmmmmhhhhh!!!!!"

I felt my body soar back, ready to hit the wall (again). But then a flash of inspiration hit me and I let my body drift for a moment before curling into a ball. Then with a flap of my wings, I somersaulted around and my feet smashed into the wall. I soon followed up by blasting right back at Anubis, much to his surprise. It wasn't until my sword connected with his lance that I realized that I had just copied the move Nephtis used on me when we first fought on Vascillia. _'Nice to see that it is just as effective on him as it was on me.'_

However, surprise quickly turned to anger as Anubis struck back, hitting my shoulder. Grunting, I returned the favor with a rising slash, but he simply warped, disappearing before my sword could make contact. Irritation flared within me. As long as he kept doing that, it would take that much more time for Aumaan to awaken. Already, the beads of energy in the center were beginning to pulsate faster. Anubis's body soon materialized before it.

"It won't be long now. Soon Aumaan will awaken and we will herald in the glorious destruction that awaits all." He raised his lance high, "Starting with you, Jehuty!"

He was right. I couldn't waste any more time. So rather than respond to his raving, I shifted toward his position. But he merely smiled and warped again, this time near the far end.

"Come on, Jehuty. You're starting to move like a LEV."

It was an obvious taunt, but I didn't care. I rushed at the maniac (ironically, like a maniac) and fired a couple of bolts. He simply raised his shield and deflected them. Soon after, he followed up with shots of his own. I circled and rolled around them, still moving toward him and my sword unsheathed. But with a sliver of movement, he dodged to he side, but not fully as his hexagon-serrated wings caught my face and stopped me flat like a fish in a net. It was embarrassing to say the least, but that was soon cut off by the pain of his lance stabbing into my back. He then whirled around and tossed me aside. I managed to recover though. I was fortunate that he hit me with the butt end of the staff of he might have run me through. I whirled around to face him, but he was gone (also again!). But I didn't bother to look for him this time. Rather I stayed right where I was. I had been letting my desperation get the better of me. I had to focus solely on defeating Anubis and strangely enough, forget Aumaan. As I began to sense his presence, I remembered how off-guard he was when I flipped off the wall. Perhaps I could use the traits of the others as well.

"Ha!"

Anubis had come into form directly above me. Seeing him, I immediately dashed away, flying around as fast as I could. I soon circled around and came at him, firing my bolts of energy to which he shielded. He then lowered the shield as I closed in and brought out his staff. But rather than attack, I flew right over his head. I saw him blink in surprise as I passed overhead and he turned to follow. I circled again and fired some more, with him putting up his shield and me flying over again.

"Just what do you think…?"

_'Now!'_ I stopped a meter after I flew overhead, turned around and shifted right at him. He was surprised by the speed and was pushed forcefully. _Just like when Vic attacked me that time we met._ I heard him strain under the pressure and then warp away, with me right on his tail. When we re-materialized, he moved in to attack for a change, stabbing forward with the lance. And now it was my turn to parry his blow. Then I slid my sword along the length of his staff, heading right for his hand. But he lifted his arm up and prevented it. In return, he swung forward, his arm being reeled from the back and slapping across my close block. I shot my elbow forward, hitting Anubis's face. But the blow was light and he grabbed my throat.

"Raahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

Energy surged from him to me, razing me with sheer pain. I grabbed hold of his hand in a desperate effort to get free, but all I managed to do is bend his elbow. The pain was becoming too much and my vision was fading.

"Sleep, Jehuty. Sleep for all eterni..."

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open and I lurched forward and bit Anubis's arm. The crimson evil roared in pain and back away.

"Treacherous dog!"

In rage, he lashed forward with the staff again, with me deflecting it once more. Then I counterattacked, but he parried it sideways and swung toward my head. I managed to duck under the attack, rotate around and slash in an upward cross, but he blocked it and pushed back. This went on repeatedly, with none of our blows getting through to each other. I realized that this fight wouldn't be decided by our styles of fighting. This fight, this battle, would be settled in one blow. One moment…

And it came sooner than I thought…

Anubis had backed away once again and warped toward the center of Aumaan. I followed in pursuit, but by the time I reached him, he was charging with dark Metatron energy. I was too close for him to use his Plasma Burst, so that meant he would use his Demon Slash. And I had shifted too close to avoid it. Leaving only one choice…

_'This is it.'_

In a flash, my body surged with the light pure energy of Metatron. I forced myself to rush the energy into my blade, readying my own attack; the Crescent Slash. We were so close to each other that our energies interlinked with each other, sending further energies scattering all over the place. Then it came. The moment we knew would come.

That singular moment…of destiny. 

"It's over! You're finished!!!!!!!"

Our energies were unleashed in that clash; my Crescent Slash swirling and meeting his Demon Slash. The force was so great and the light so bright, yet it lasted for only a moment and then it ended.

_Yes, Anubis.__ It is over.'_

I saw it as if it was in slow motion. My attack had ripped right through his lance a split second before it could make contact with me. But more than that, the Crescent Slash had cleanly sliced his arm off as well. Surprise and pain both overcame his facial features as the force hurled him back, smashing right into the wall and rebounding off of it. He staggered to right himself, but by the time he could even try, my sword was at his throat.

"All those who have suffered…all those who have died...just for your sick dream of destruction." My blade shifted closer, "Is it worth it?"

Despite his battered condition, he still managed to chuckle, "Hehehe. Absolutely. Everyone was of no consequence. They were just scum anyway. My only regret was that I didn't get to see them all die."

I couldn't believe it. Even now, after all that had happened and all that he had done, he didn't feel any remorse whatsoever. And that sickened me worse of all. My blade arm trembled with untapped anger and fury and Metatron began to unconsciously fill my body once more. This madness had to end…now!

-"They're waiting for you now!"-

My blade shimmered brightly and I gave my crimson twin one last look. Long ago I said that the only thing we shared with the Metatron blood within us. Strangely enough, I had hoped that there was something more. Something else that made us alike. But now I knew. We were twins, but we were also polar opposites. As opposite as life and death; good and evil; light and dark. And as such I would feel some remorse and possibly regret for what I must do.

But that wouldn't stop me from doing it…

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I spun around with my final Crescent Slash. My spin became as a white halo as it ripped right through Anubis's body. The scream of Anubis shook throughout the entire area, but was shortly cut off by his exploding body. I watched as it flew back into the wall and exploded on contact. It was over.

Anubis is dead.

But I wasn't allowed even a second of relief before a rumbling alerted my attention. My head snapped around franticly before I located the source. The energy beams had stopped pulsating and a bubble of pure light formed in the core, growing steadily outward. Despite all my fighting and battling, I was too late.

Aumaan was awakening!


	32. Beyond the Bounds

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

_AN: I decided to make this chapter a bit like a songfic. Never did it before, so I'm giving it a shot._

Chap. 31

--

_Message of the blowing wind _

_Erasing memories _

_Stars are the witnesses of our existence___

--

I gasped in disbelief as the light from the core of the fortress began to grow and shine. It was beautiful, but I felt the destructive power coming from within. It was as though life and death were all confined with this sphere. This is it. This was what Anubis wanted to create. Unbridled power, unstoppable force, in a single word…

_Destruction…_

I felt myself become drawn to the sphere. The metatron within me was racing a warp speed before the presence of the sphere. I had never felt anything like it and at that moment, I understood why Anubis sought this out. The power I felt was glorious, surging through me like lightning and driving me into a near-euphoric state.

No… 

--

_Change is what the world awaits _

_Could that be peace or war? _

_The answer no one knows _

_Trusting the break of dawn _

_The blue bird flies away___

--

_'No.'_ I shook it away. No. This had to end now. If it didn't Anubis would win and everything would be destroyed. But how could I stop something like this?

"Ugghhhhh!"

It was then that I felt it. My chest began to glow brightly to where I couldn't even see it. It took a moment for me to realize that I was reacting to the expanding sphere and another to realize why. My curse... My body was reacting to the buildup of energy and now I was set to… I looked at my hands, which were brimming with metatron power. Perhaps this is the best. The power I felt within me was far greater than anything I felt. If I blew up, then it could be enough to stop this. I set my body forward, awaiting the inevitable.

"Rahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

I blinked suddenly and looked up to she the mangled form of Vic Viper swoop in from above. Despite his damaged body, he shot right past me like the bird that he was and went directly into the sphere.

"Vic! No!"

The falcon warrior dove directly into the energy and charged his body with energy. Holding his clawed hands forward, he began to fight the expanding energy with all his might.

"You will not win Anubis!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

--

_Traveling beyond the bounds _

_We have to take that step _

_What are we waiting for? It's now or never_

--

Vic's body shone even brighter as he continued to fight the energy. But with all his wounds and injuries, he couldn't be at full strength. Even if he was, the power of the core was overwhelming. Even now as I watched, the sphere began to expand against his power. But despite that, he refused to quit; refuse to let down; refuse to stop fighting. I could let this curse kill me, but would that mean that I had given up?

-"If it doesn't work, do whatever you please. Don't just wait here to die."-

The sphere grew closer, but I was focused on Dingo's words. He's right. They both were. I couldn't stand here and let myself simply die. All of my fighting would be in vain if I did that. All those who fought with me, those who suffered, even those who fought against me. No. I will not just stand there and wait to die. Focusing to the full, I centered my energy into my hands and allowed the sphere to engulf me. The energy light consumed everything and force began to tear at me. The pressure from the force was tearing me up, but I didn't stop. With renewed strength, I pushed even harder, forcing my power, my energy, my entire being into stopping this. The light soon turned to darkness, revealing the true intent of all this power. The intent I had already seen. Destruction. Destruction to end all.

**-"STOPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"****-**

**"STOPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"******

--

_Fear to see "The World to Be" _

_Is why we hesitate _

_Repeat the same mistake _

_Hoping to break new ground _

_The blue bird flies away___

--

Renewal turned to desperation as I continued to fight. But this wasn't something I could beat. No, I can't let this win. Too much is at stake. But even this resolve began to waver. Ahead of me, Vic had reached his limit and beyond and the energy became too much even for him and the wave of energy finally pushed him away. I couldn't even think about helping him for I felt my own body beginning to slip. I dug deep within my soul and called everything I had, everything that I was. The ripples of energy continued to tear at me, ripping apart my skin and body. My hand soon evaporated away, but strangely I didn't feel any pain. My focus and struggle had consumed my entire consciousness. So much so that time itself seem to stop and all was silent and still.

_'What is that?'_

A single spot of light slowly came up out of the void. I could feel my eyes widen as is closed in on me and I recognized it instantly.

"Anubis?"

Indeed, it was Anubis, or what was left of his body. His head and his upper body hovered toward and his evil glare remained plastered on his face. Despite this, I felt the power he possessed continue to vibrate within him. It was amazing that even in death, he possess this power.

_'Wait…Could…Could that be the answer?'_

I reached my sole hand up and grabbed hold of Anubis. I felt the metatron between us synchronize and beat in rapid intervals. It's strange really. Here was once the being who as bent on destroying all. Now in the peak of that event, he was the only one…that could stop it. My arm reared back, holding fast onto his head. The energy continued to pour on me, but that didn't matter. With a burst of retreating strength, I hurled the body of Anubis right in the center of the void and straight into the core. As flash erupted a moment later, shattering the energy from within. It took only a second to realize what was coming and another second to wheel around and fly away. Everything exploded behind me and the shockwave was a moment behind. I soared away toward the exit point, catching sight of Vic along the way. He seemed unable to move and due to the additional injuries he had suffered, I could see why. Rushing even faster, I latched my arm out, hoping that I didn't slip and miss him. If I did, then I wouldn't be able to turn around for him. His body came closer and my arm reached out. Vic's eyes locked with mine and as soon as I came, I went.

But not before my arm latched around his shoulder…

Now hooked with Vic Viper, I pressed on, pushing whatever I had left into getting out of there. The shockwave was beginning to catch up and was right on my feet.

--

_Reaching out to catch the sun _

_To hold it in our hands _

_Longing for something strong to hide our weakness_

--

_'A little more…'_

The exit was just ahead.

_'A little more…'_

The explosion singed my feet and burned it to a crisp.

_'A little more…'_

**_"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_****__**

I shot right out of the exit and into space a nanosecond before the waves of energy destroyed everything and exploded in on itself, shattering everything in view. Light had engulfed everything as far as I could see and for a moment, I thought I was dead. Then the light faded away, revealing the blackness of space. Well, maybe not so black. The stars seemed to shine more now. But it wasn't until a bit later that I realized how much pain and fatigue I was in. I couldn't even move as I began to drift forward. I saw Vic' body still in my arm's grip, until that shattered as well. I probably should have cried in pain, but I couldn't even do that. I drifted even more and my vision began to fade away. But not before I saw a red blur come toward me.

"Brother…"

My body stopped drifting and was settled within…something. It took the last of my senses to realize that it was Anubis. _No…the other Anubis_. The spurious copy that had been created by Anubis. He was…holding me. And it was warm. _Strange._ I would have expected to feel some discomfort or even apprehension. Even if this wasn't the monster that had battled with me, I would have thought that I would have reacted instantly. But no. I just rested as I shank into blissful oblivion.

_He called me brother…_

--

_Soon the light may disappear _

_Nothing is meant to last _

_Yet we believe our world _

_Searching for happiness _

--

When my eyes opened again, I found myself in one of the human's…docking area as they called them. The area was dimly lit, but I could faintly make out Anubis's on my left side and Vic Viper on my right. A sudden snap caught my attention and almost thought that another one of my body parts had broken. But then I realized that the snapping was internal. _Mental._ I almost jumped in surprised when I realized. _'Dingo!'_ I managed to lower my eyes to see Dingo being removed from my body and onto a cot of some kind. He looked almost as bad as I did. Also with him were Leo and Ken, who looked worse for wear, but okay. As they moved him into the light, I saw him conversing with Ken. But about what, I couldn't hear. Dingo then turned to look at me and for the last time, I heard his thoughts as he smiled.

_'Thanks, Jehuty.'_

I would have nodded back if I was so sore, so I get a smile would suffice. I don't know if he saw it or not due to Ken's sudden embrace and his eyes nearly closed, but I think he knew anyway. As he was wheeled away, with Ken by his side and Leo staying behind with me, I looked over at my two comrades, who were both asleep from all the fighting we had been through. Now that I think about it, I could use some sleep too. I don't know if when I wake up next, I will be fighting again, but I hoped that it would under a more peaceful time. My eyes began to slowly drift close and finally sealed.

_It was time to sleep again…_

--

_The blue bird flies away_

_--_

_Well, it's finally over. I would like to thank the following people for reading and reviewing my fanfic._

_Dark shadow (First reviewer), Videogame Fan, Mimic12355, Final Saber, Raiden-sama, Hidemitsu Samanosuke Akechi, Librarose, Dragon of the Rifts, Steel Jaguar, Wing Zero Alpha, Namdrapoeleth, sxith-mon, Crest EXE, Too lazy to write name, Spadde, Gray, and KristalRozes_

_Special thanks goes to chero666, Aki Kitsune (please don't cry) and Swordmaster Silvace_

_Thank you all for reading (even if you didn't review, that's okay) and sayonara._

_For now…_


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